


Coin Toss

by melagan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 16:13:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5340347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melagan/pseuds/melagan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story references the episode <i>Before I Sleep<i>.  </i></i></p><p> <br/>John Sheppard didn't die when the first expedition went to Atlantis. Instead, he just got misplaced for a while.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	Coin Toss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Syble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syble/gifts).



> Thank you mezzo cammin for not giving up and not letting me give up. This story has been a long time coming. 
> 
> Thank you Syble, for the wonderful artwork that started it all. You can see the artwork here. [Surprise](http://syble.deviantart.com/art/Surprise-174849592)

Prologue:

Elizabeth steeled herself to enter the stasis chamber for the final time. She knew she'd have a bare moment, maybe two, before the chamber detected her presence and sent her back into that timeless sleep.

Thousands of years had already passed and her frailty was showing. Her hair was completely grey now and her skin wrinkled with age. "So, Janus," she whispered to herself, gazing down at the age spots on her hand, "not completely timeless after all."

This was hardly the condition she preferred to be in when she met her younger self – assuming she did wake again. A tiny smile graced her face. If this was successful, everyone lived. Enough power would remain for the shields to stave off imminent drowning. The city would rise. What were a few lifetimes and wrinkles compared to that?

Her youthful self would be there, of that she had no doubt. Rodney McKay, Peter Grodin, and Dr. Beckett, they were as sure as the sunrise. All would make the decision to come to Atlantis in the next few thousand years.

Then there was Major John Sheppard. Elizabeth paused. Rumors were that he'd made his choice to come to Atlantis on the toss of a coin. As she stepped in to the chamber, her final thought was a question. When the opportunity arose, fresh and new in this rewritten timeline, would Major Sheppard bet on heads, or tails?

~*~

What the hell kind of energy signature takes on a blue, shimmering outline of an oversized dragon? Rodney McKay shoved the thought aside and just hoped he lived to think about it later.

A simple reconnaissance mission – his ass. Rodney adjusted his grip on the joystick and tried to remember everything Markham had shown him about evasive maneuvers. He was painfully aware they had no back up, and no marines coming to the rescue. This entire mission hinged on the capabilities of one small Gateship, himself, and Teyla. 

Their third team member, Lt. Ford, had begged to come but Dr. Biro, with her particular brand of stubbornness, had refused to clear him. Not that Ford could have made any difference here, what with the blinding headaches he still suffered. 

Rodney spared a moment to glance at Teyla. "If Ford could see this…."

"We will tell him all about this, Rodney, when are back, safe on Atlantis. Meanwhile, I suggest you fly faster."

They wouldn't be in this mess, hanging their lives on Rodney's less than stellar piloting skills, if they'd had any other choice. Without shields, unable to move the city, and with the Wraith aware of their existence, they were in desperate need of a safe alpha site.

Elizabeth hated the idea of abandoning the city. So much so, she'd made Rodney promise to find a power source so they could return as soon as possible. He'd promised, feeling caught and helpless in the face of her utter irrationality. If wishing for a ZPM could make it so, they'd have a hundred by now.

Power was only part of the problem. They needed more people, both those with the gene and those capable of making repairs to the ten thousand year-old systems. Another useless wish. After what Sumner had done, no one else from Earth was coming. 

When Radek found a list of planets in the ancient database, planets listed as protected, he'd thought they'd struck pay dirt. As he dodged between electric talons, Rodney acknowledged that this was another case where the Ancient's idea of useful information would probably get them killed. 

Who in their right mind would imagine that it meant a giant energy dragon defended the planet? One that, at this moment, seemed hell bent on ripping them from the sky.

Damn it all to hell. Rodney struggled with controlling their flight path. The Gateship's sluggish response left him relying on luck and a prayer. Doomed. They were so doomed.

He swore under his breath. Or, not so under his breath judging from Teyla's expression. "This is just one more example of how badly ..." he pulled the ship up from a sharp dive seconds before hitting the water, "…the expedition needs people with a strong ATA gene!"

"You are doing very well, Rodney." Teyla kept a firm grip the console in front of her as she pulled up an analysis of the energy field. "No one could have expected this." 

 

He pushed the little ship into a sharp bank and slipped between the charged talons trying to snatch them out of the air. Too close for comfort by a long shot. A glance at Teyla made him blink. Her hair now framed her face in an aureole caused by the static electricity. On her it looked angelic. Rodney didn't have time to wonder what his own, shorter follicles must look like. 

She ignored both her hair, and him, calmly reading aloud the incoming data so that Rodney could concentrate on flying. Her steadiness made him grateful all over again that he'd chosen her to be on his Gate team.

"Perhaps you should fire a drone?" Teyla suggested. "Now would be good."

"Not yet. We don't know enough about its power source. It could magnify the output."

"You mean it could feed off the explosion and grow like the energy creature Jinto released?"

"Exactly." Rodney glanced at the readouts and collapsed gratefully back in his chair. "It looks like we're out of range." He patted the console. They were alive and the tough little Gateship was still flying. He'd take it as a win.

On the other hand, Teyla clearly wasn't happy, and Rodney waited, knowing she'd voice her opinion eventually.

"I don't like going back to Atlantis when we have nothing positive to report," she finally admitted. "Dr. Weir had such hope for this mission."

"Elizabeth understands." He winced. Elizabeth might very well understand but for a smart woman, she'd also pinned too many hopes on their success.

"Rodney, is there a chance this energy is powered by a ZPM?" Teyla asked.

Words froze in Rodney's mouth. Finding a new Alpha site was only half the mission. They also desperately needed a power source for the city's shields. Finding a ZPM would exponentially increase their odds of survival.

He hated the reality of it, but he was going to have to disappoint her, and everyone else. Rodney stared out the viewport as he spoke so that he wouldn't have to watch the hope in her eyes crumble away.

"The energy signature is all wrong for a ZPM." With false cheer he added, "Look, maybe we'll still get lucky. Something has to power this ridiculous, anthropomorphic defense. Download the ship's scans to my laptop and I'll go over it when we get back."

~*~

Rodney stood in the conference room doorway with the mission report in his hands. He wasn't looking forward to giving Elizabeth Weir the bad news. Lately it seemed every disappointment hit her hard, as though she took personal responsibility for every failure.

He wished Teyla were here to back him up. Unfortunately, it didn't take two of them to give their report and she'd gone to the infirmary to see Ford. Exhaustion washed over him. What happened on the planet was no one's fault, but he sure as hell carried the guilt for what happened to Lt. Ford.

"Rodney? Are you planning on coming in any time soon?" Elizabeth's understanding smile made it clear she knew exactly where his thoughts had turned.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the conference room determined to find a way to put a positive spin on his report.

"One minute we're flying in clear, blue skies and the next we were under attack. This thing," Rodney pulled up the dragon's image on his laptop, "was fast, rising up out of the waves like they didn't exist. Before we had time to cloak, it attacked."

"So the attack was unprovoked? You're sure?"

"All we did was show up in its airspace, Elizabeth. The next thing we knew it was trying to slice us apart with its talons." 

"Tell me some good news, Rodney." 

"I've been going over the data. That kind of energy takes enormous power."

Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "A ZPM? You're sure?"

"Positive," Rodney said; fingers crossed behind his back. It had to be some kind of energy source, after all, and it was a good bet it was Ancient. "Let me go back."

Her face fell. "It's too dangerous. I can't let you risk it, not even for a ZPM."

"Ah! That's the really good part. Judging by the data we gathered, we should be able to modify one of the Gateships with a neutralizer net. Once we narrow down the correct frequency wave we can dampen the electromagnetic field generated by the…" Rodney paused, catching the expression on Elizabeth's face. "Yes, well, I have Radek working on it now. It should be ready by tomorrow."

"And then what?" Elizabeth asked. 

"We find the lab generating the defense mode and shut it down."

"And bring the ZPM back to Atlantis." Elizabeth leaned back, pressing her fingertips together in thought, as Rodney impatiently waited for her to give him the green light.

"You said you and Teyla barely survived the attack. It would seem this protective energy 'dragon' could be a formidable weapon against the Wraith." She paused. "Rodney, instead of shutting it down, is there a way to bring it here? Use it to protect Atlantis?"

"Well…yes. Maybe?" It was the real reason he wanted to get back, assuming they could find a way to power it. He just hadn't expected Elizabeth see it that way.

"There has to be an outpost or lab on the planet where it's generated from. I'll have to get a look at the programming, which I can do, if you let me go back." Rodney silently urged Elizabeth to hurry up and give her approval. He didn't know why it seemed so necessary to hurry back to the planet but the longer it took the more driven he felt.

"And you're sure the planet is uninhabited?"

Rodney wanted to pound his head on the table. Elizabeth's caution might be commendable but it was driving him nuts. 

"Yes, it's uninhabited. By several thousand years, according to the database." With a few strokes, Rodney brought up the planet's file and handed over his laptop for Elizabeth to read. "You can see P12-833 was abandoned the same time as Atlantis. There was no reason to leave the defenses still running but, as we've discovered, the Ancients had a nasty habit of not bothering to turn all the lights off when they left."

"All right. Do it." She hesitated. "Rodney, are you sure you want to do this? I could send someone else. Stackhouse would go."

"And I could stay here, nice and safe? There's how many of us that can fly the Gateships? Too few, that's how many. You know as well as I do, you need your best pilots here, protecting Atlantis. Believe me, I'm the last person to consider myself expendable but I'm the best choice you've got.”

Elizabeth nodded. "Be careful." 

Agreeing, because it was ridiculous to imagine he wouldn't be careful, Rodney stood, anxious to check on Radek's progress. The sooner he got back to the planet and got this done, the better he'd feel.

~*~

He didn't even stop for tea before heading for the lab. Once there, one look at Radek's smug face and Rodney knew their modifications were going to work. "Radek, how much progress have you made? Will it be done by tomorrow?"

"It goes well, McKay." Radek pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. "Assuming your figures are correct."

"What! Of course my figures are correct!"

"Well, we all know how you get when you panic. You panic, your brain goes pfff. Is likely you do not think straight while trying to fly away from a dragon. However, you have me to check your work so you will not go zzzt like bug on zapper when you push the button. Lucky, yes?" Radek looked up and grinned. "It was really a dragon?"

"I was very calm and collected, I’ll have you know." Rodney leaned close, putting all bluster aside, "It really was a dragon and it was huge. You should have seen it."

Radek's impish grin in return was all Rodney needed to know they were on the same page. 

"The modifications are almost done." Radek rocked up on his toes, irrepressibly gleeful. "In the morning, you will go find the lab and bring us back a dragon!" 

"We still have to power it," Rodney cautioned.

"We will find a way. I thought perhaps oceanic wave modulations could work?" 

"Possibly. If it does work, we'll have our own energy dragon to fight the Wraith!" Despite himself, Rodney's hand shot up for a hive five.

Clearing his throat, he wiped his hand on his shirt, pretending he hadn't missed. Radek mirrored his motion, eyes darting everywhere but at Rodney. "You saw the same thing in the scans that I did?" Rodney asked.

"Yes, and I agree, it's not a Zero Point Module. I suspect it draws power from the ocean's underwater currents or perhaps thermal rifts." Radek shrugged. "Have you explained it to Dr. Weir, yet?"

"I couldn't. You know how she's been since – .

"Fragile. Breakable." Radek nodded. "I wish to protect her too, but you're going to have to tell her the truth."

"Not yet." He pulled up a file of blueprints. Staring at it didn't change a damn thing. Losing the Stargate hadn't been an accident. The specs on the incendiary device were an exact duplicate to one he'd seen at Stargate Command. It wasn't the first time the SGC tried to solve a pesky alien problem with explosives.

"Do you think the SGC somehow knew about the Wraith?" Radek asked. "Why else would they have Col. Sumner do such a thing?"

"It doesn't really matter anymore, does it? We're still screwed." Rodney shut the laptop. No one was coming to rescue them even if they could contact Earth. Elizabeth didn't know and Rodney intended to avoid telling her as long as possible. He'd crushed enough hope for one day. 

Radek shot him his hairy eye-ball look, and Rodney took that as his time to retreat. "Uh, yes, well, I'm just going to go check on Ford, now."

"Good idea. Rodney, you know he does not blame you. He understands you were trying to help everyone here. If your plan had worked, many lives might have been saved."

"It was an unmitigated disaster, you mean." Rodney couldn't bear to stand there and listen to a rehash of his mistakes. Not even with kind intentions that he knew he didn't deserve. Without another word, he turned his back on Radek and strode towards the infirmary.

Memories and regrets dogged him all the way to Ford's bedside. Standing at the foot of the hospital bed he pasted on a smile and forced false cheer into his voice. "Ford! You're looking, uh, not as horrible. Are you feeling better?"

The medical staff had stuck some Frankensteinian version of protective eyewear over Ford's eyes. It looked freakish, bulky, and uncomfortable, but it didn't seem to have dampened Ford's spirits.

"I'm getting out of here tomorrow, Dr. McKay," Ford happily announced. 

"Ah, good." Rodney awkwardly patted Ford's blanket-covered foot. "You know what they say, you can't keep a good man down."

Ford's flush was barely visible under his dusky skin. "I'm really sorry the gene therapy didn't work."

He sat down heavily in the chair, aware of Ford's eyes on him, staring at him through those stupid goggles, patiently waiting for Rodney to say something. 

Rodney stared down at his own hands. This should have turned out differently. All of his careful genetic testing indicated it would work. Damn soft sciences. Slowly, his hands curled into fists as his thoughts spun out over everything that had led to this. This was Carson's fault. His refusal to come to Atlantis had changed everything. 

***

No, Rodney. I can't go and I will not change my mind. I need to be here. At my mum's age, urosepsis is nothing to take lightly, especially as she's not responding well to treatment. So, unless you've decided to help after all, you're just going to have to go to Atlantis without me." 

"That's blackmail, Carson," Rodney huffed. "It doesn't suit you." 

"Blackmail is an ugly word, Rodney. I simply asked for your help." 

"You asked me to steal the Goa'uld hand device!" 

"Borrow. I only asked you to borrow it!" 

"Well, you can forget it. It's a moot point anyway, unless you were planning on kidnapping Col. Carter, too?" Seeing the blank look on Carson's face Rodney added, "The device will only work for someone with naquadah in their blood. Excuse me if we're a little short on candidates." 

"That's it, then," Carson said, with a weary shake of his head. "Nothing more to be said about it." 

"You'll come later, though?" Rodney asked. "Once we find another ZPM, I'll have the Atlantis Gate working in no time. You'll be able to come back and visit your mother whenever you want." 

"I don't know about whenever I want.... Oh, for pity's – you look worse than that time your cat went missing for three days. Buck up, Rodney, of course I'll be coming on later. Wouldn't miss it." He laid a hand on Rodney's shoulder, about to say something else when a young, spit-and-shine Lieutenant came running up to them. 

"Now what?" Rodney snapped. 

"I have a message for Dr. Beckett, Dr. McKay." He handed Carson a yellow post-it. "General O'Neill said to tell you that he can have a helicopter ready in fifteen but you have to get ready to leave right now." 

Carson looked at the note, his expression growing grim. "I'll be right along." 

"Is it your mother? Is she…? Rodney didn't care for the sudden pallor of Carson's face. 

"She's been moved to the ICU. I'm sorry, Rodney, I can't stay to see you step through the Gate." 

Around them the large, concrete room began to fill with people and containers. Carson's gaze shifted from Rodney to a crate of medical supplies to the Stargate and back again. He shook his head and sighed. "I wish…well, enough of that. Reaching out, he grabbed Rodney's hand and gave it a strong, solid shake. "I'm sorry I can't stay for a proper send-off, but I need to go." 

Turning to leave, Carson hesitated, stopping to pull a flash drive from his pocket. "Here, take this with you. You might find it handy." 

*** 

He'd taken it and casually shoved it into his pants pocket. Rodney wished now the damn thing had burned a hole in his pocket but instead he'd promptly forgotten about it. He had a Zero Point Module to connect, and assuming it worked, he'd be in another galaxy by lunchtime. He didn’t have time for soft science trivia, last regrets, Scottish Dear Mum diaries, or whatever the hell Carson had given him. 

No one could blame him for not realizing how important the information would turn out to be. Rodney just wished the results had worked the way Carson intended. Days like this he missed his friend fiercely one minute and wanted to throttle him the next. 

Rodney fixed his gaze on Ford. "Ford, how many times have you seen the Stargate open? I mean, before we came to Atlantis?" He was genuinely curious. Most of his work dealt with theory, and while he might be able to explain exactly how Stargate travel worked, it never prepared him for how beautiful it looked in action.

"Gosh, dozens of times, probably. It never gets old, though." Ford slowly sipped at his water, looking thoughtful. "Dr. McKay, are you okay?" 

"Fine, fine. There's nothing wrong with me a cup of coffee won't cure."

"In that case, you're in trouble. We ran out of beans three weeks ago."

"Believe me, I know." Rodney stood, pressing one hand on his back to stretch out his spine. With a loud groan he asked, "Can I bring you back something from the mess, Lieutenant?"

"Naw, but thanks for asking." Ford dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "One of the nurses is kind of sweet on me, Doc. She always makes sure I get an extra dessert."

"Ah well, in that case, far be it for me to interfere with true love." As retorts went, it wasn't his best but Ford didn't seem to care, smiling back at him in genuine good cheer.

Rodney didn’t think he'd ever understand how Ford could be so forgiving. The rash still looked horribly painful even though Dr. Biro assured him the worst was over. 

"I'm so sorry, Ford. I never should have risked administering the gene therapy without more testing," Rodney confessed, battling the desire to punch something until his fists bled. 

"No. You did the right thing." Ford said firmly. "Listen McKay, even us grunts realize how thoroughly screwed we are the way things are right now. We need people that can make the Ancient stuff work. And, just so you know, when you get the bugs worked out of the gene therapy, I'll be the first to line up for it again."

With a nod and a gruff promise to drop off a movie later, Rodney left the infirmary, if not guilt-free at least feeling better than he had in weeks.

~*~

He tossed and turned in his bed, unable to find a comfortable spot. Rodney finally gave it up for a lost cause and sitting up, gave his pillow a vicious jab. He knew the problem. It didn't matter how badly he needed to sleep, every time he closed his eyes, he couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow's trip back to P12-833. It left him feeling wired and anxious.

Kicking his feet free of the tangled sheets, he sat up and reached for his laptop. Reviewing data soothed him far better than counting inane sheep. He mindlessly clicked through the expedition files until he found Major John Sheppard's. 

Rodney had hoped but never really expected to find anyone with an affinity with the Ancient technology. Not until that particular pretty flyboy had sat in the control chair. 

_"Think about where we are in the solar system, Major."_

The reaction to those simple words changed everything as, with a thought, Major Sheppard manipulated the Ancient chair like he'd been born to it. Orbiting planets and galaxies suddenly lit up the ceiling. Rodney stood frozen with shock. Just a momentary lapse before his brain began recalculating the odds of their survival. 

Yes, he'd been disappointed when Sheppard had taken his lazy drawl, hazel eyes, and his perfect gene away, deciding not to come on the expedition after all. He still blamed General O'Neill for that. If he'd just let Rodney show the Major around, given him a chance to show Sheppard some of the more fascinating toys – let Rodney tell him about Atlantis and screw the non-disclosure paperwork….

Suddenly exhausted, he shut down the laptop and set it safely the bedside table. Rodney made a half-hearted attempt to fluff his pillow before giving up and finally falling into a fitful slumber. In his dreams, Major Sheppard walked beside him through the city's hallways. Unlike this expedition's arrival, dream Atlantis lit their way with every footstep and the city came to life all around them.

When he woke, the feeling of connection lingered and he pressed his hand flat against his bedroom wall. If he'd been given to flights of fancy, he'd have said it felt like a promise.

~*~

"Everyone ready? Good, good, let's go!" Rodney said, striding into the Gateship bay. He clapped his hands together, a determined show of enthusiasm despite his misgivings. Exercising a modicum of restraint, he kept his list of the ways this could go very badly to himself. Fiery death, drowning, electrocution, shredded into mincemeat – and those were just his top four.

"Piece of cake, let's get this show on the road. Anyone nervous? No? Good. No matter what anybody says, we've not backing out now." Rodney patted down his tac vest pockets in his lucky sequence. Not that he believed, exactly…. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Teyla grinning at him. "What? It's good to be a team, all together again and whatnot. Right?"

"It is indeed, Rodney," Teyla said, smiling over at Ford. 

Rodney snapped his jaw shut before he spewed any more inanity into the atmosphere. He knew he shouldn't feel this nervous about going back to the planet. However, that didn't stop the dry lurch in his chest when he sat down at the ship's helm and plotted their course. 

He rubbed his sweaty hands on his pants and did his damnedest to focus on the mission ahead. Resolute, he reached for the controls. Rodney had absolute confidence in the shield modifications. He really did, so why was he so nervous? 

The new Electromagnetic Neutralizer Field was tested and ready. Yes, he'd reluctantly admit the ENF was primarily Radek's work but he could still take a good chunk of credit. Sixty or forty, fine, twenty percent of the credit….

"Dr. McKay!" Ford snapped his fingers in front of Rodney's face. "Time to go."

"Oh, right." With a firm grasp on the joystick and his heart in this throat, Rodney concentrated on flying. Once they were up and out of the Gateship bay it was a short flight to Athos' Stargate. One day they'd get their own gate fixed but for now, this served the purpose. It worried him that the Athosians had no shield on their Gate and Rodney moved that task up higher on his list of priorities. 

The Gateship responded to his thoughts and touch like a well-oiled machine. Rodney knew he should thank Sgt. Markham's patience for that. The baby-faced Sergeant had kept his cool, and his sense of humor, while teaching Rodney the basics of flying the Gateships. Well, at least he'd kept his snickering to a minimum when it came to flying in a straight line.

Rodney rubbed at his arm. The ATA injection site shouldn't still itch, should it? He sighed. At least the burning had stopped – and the spots in front of his eyes. The nausea was under control, thanks to Teyla's stout tea. He cast a glance at Ford who tapped compulsively at one knee, and decided to keep his complaints to himself. 

Once they were through the Gate, Rodney took them into a low orbit. All too soon, Teyla announced, "We are approaching the planet's defense perimeter now." 

Ford leaned over Rodney's shoulder for a better look at the display. "Teyla, give us a weapons check." He still wore the medical goggles and when he grinned he looked damn near maniacal, but his hands were steady. Whatever nerves he'd had earlier had settled once he had something to do.

"Weapons are good and our shield is at full strength," Teyla serenely replied. 

"Good. Initializing the ENF, now." Rodney announced. "Ford, how's the headache?"

"The goggles help. Is the field working?" Ford asked, tension hugging his shoulders.

Damn, Ford's emotions were all over the place. Was it part of the failed gene therapy? Rodney had no idea how to make Ford feel better. Mother-henning was never one of his strengths. Something he was profoundly grateful for, as a rule. The one thing he could do was reassure him with the truth. 

"It's working perfectly, Ford. Now, let's locate the outpost generating…oh crap."

"What is it, Rodney?" Teyla asked.

Ford went tenser than before, if possible. He began searching the sky as though expecting to be under attack at any moment. "McKay, you said it was working!"

"It is. That's the problem. It's working too good." Dismayed, he turned to face his teammates. "We need to turn it off." He held up his hand to stave off any protests. "I know it's risky but I can't pinpoint the power source unless we let the dragon materialize."

"Oh, crap." Teyla echoed. "Stop looking at me like that, Ford."

"No no, crap's a good word," Ford agreed, struggling to keep a straight face. "I'm just worried McKay here is rubbing off on you."

She ignored him and turned back to the view screen. "How long will the field need to be off, Rodney? We barely escaped last time we were under attack."

"I know."

"Yeah, Doc, are you sure you want to turn it off?" Ford asked. 

"I'm sure I don't, but we need to find that energy source." 

A shimmer rose over the ocean, the dragon forming more slowly this time. 

"Teyla, is anything showing up on the sensors?" Rodney wanted to check the readings himself but he didn't dare take his attention away from flying. 

"Holy shit! That thing is huge. McKay, shoot it!" Ford yelled. 

"If this works, we won't need to." Rodney kept one hand hovered over the controls, ready to punch in his command. "Tick – tock, Teyla."

"I have it, Rodney!" She enlarged the display on the view screen to show a pulsing red dot. "Its power source is several hundred meters under the ocean."

"Doc, you'd better do something," Ford warned. "It's almost on top of us!"

"Shit!" Rodney hand slammed down over the controls. "Reinitializing the ENF, now!"

The dragon stalled, frozen mid-flight. Its electric charge shifted from blue to white and then it silently fizzled from view. 

"It's gone? Just like that?" Ford asked. 

They all waited breathlessly, exchanging glances. Nothing happened. Ford let out a long, slow breath. "You did it, Dr. McKay. I never should have doubted you."

"You doubted me?" Before he could begin explaining how very wrong Ford was for doubting his genius, Teyla held up her hand for silence. 

"Did you hear that?" she asked, staring at the bulkhead doors behind them. "We are not alone." She rose out of her seat and quietly moved towards the door. 

Ford cocked his sidearm, taking point and Rodney engaged the autopilot, moving to join Teyla. The door slid open and they stood unmoving, staring at the sight in front of them. 

"Who is that?" Ford asked. "And how in hell did he get here?"

Teyla was the first to react and she moved quickly, dragging a blanket from the locker to cover up the wet, naked, and unconscious man lying on the floor. Ford pulled out the First Aid kit and joined her.

Moving slower, Rodney knelt down, hand hovering over the black, spiky hair. This is what his gut has been trying to tell him. He resisted smoothing the man's hair back from his forehead, drawing his hand back and rubbing it on his pants leg instead. "Welcome home, Major Sheppard." 

"You know him?" Ford asked. 

"I do," Rodney, answered. "Meet your commanding officer, Lt. Ford. He's only 10,000 years overdue."

~*~

John Sheppard kept his eyes closed, his breathing even, and tried to figure out where he was by the smells and sounds around him. Clue one. It smelled like every infirmary he'd ever been in.

"How's our patient doing, Dr. Biro?"

John's eyes snapped open. "Elizabeth?" he croaked. Shit, his throat felt like it was full of sand. He tried to prop himself up but his arms didn't care to cooperate. "Where…?"

"Take it easy, Major Sheppard." Dr. Biro said. "You've been unconscious for the better part of a day. We're all quite curious about you, you know," she shot a look at Elizabeth, "but questions can wait."

"Just tell me," John asked, "we're back on Atlantis aren't we? I can feel it. Dr. McKay must've saved the day after all. Where is he?"

Elizabeth and Biro exchanged a look John couldn't interpret.

"Rodney is fine, Major Sheppard," Elizabeth stepped up to his bedside and smiled. "We both have some catching up to do."

"We do?" John narrowed his eyes. Something in her tone felt off. "I'm not sure I like the way you said – catching up. Just how long have I been out of it?" He looked up at Dr. Biro. "Doc, you said I was unconscious for most of a day? What happened? The last thing I remember, the city was drowning and I trying to fly us to safety. There was this flash of light…."

"We'll talk about it after you get some rest." Elizabeth exchanged another look with Dr. Biro. "Per doctor's orders."

John would have loved to argue with Dr. Weir but he was too damn exhausted. "Whatever it is," he croaked, "I'm glad you're alive."

The last thing he heard before his traitorous eyelids closed was the sound of Elizabeth's voice as she patted his hand. “We're very glad you're alive too, Major."

~*~

John's nose twitched. Food. He could smell it. Better yet, it smelled like real food. The home cooked kind, not some field-heated MRE.

"I thought this might get your attention. Wakey-wakey, Major. Time to get up and eat the almost bacon."

John cracked open his eyes to see Rodney McKay shaking a tray of food under his nose. "God, you're annoying."

"Ha! It's all part of the McKay charm. Trust me, I'll grow on you. Better men than you have tried to resist."

"Please, don't kill my appetite before I get to eat anything," John said, reaching for the tray. 

"Fat chance of that. I could hear your stomach growling from down the hall." For all his snark, McKay handed over the tray carefully, making sure everything was within comfortable reach. 

He ate and McKay talked. It reminded him a lot of their relationship in Antarctica right after he sat in the Ancient chair. He'd lay money down that it was only a matter of time before McKay asked him to touch something. 

He let the words wash over him, nodding at appropriate points as he took the opportunity to size Rodney up. He spoke in the same way, a rapid-fire snap of facts as he had in Antarctica, but he paused more often. Even his appearance had changed. Not by much, but by more than a day could account for. He looked thinner than John remembered.

Rodney had fluffy, short tuffs of hair standing up in the front, earmarks of someone in too much of a hurry to do more than chop it out of the way. But his hair had grown a little too long in the back. Easily two months growth, not the forty-eight hours they wanted him to think had passed. 

John was beginning to think he should ask McKay if he'd ever grown a goatee.

Done eating, he pushed the tray away and asked, "All right, McKay, what's really going on? And don't say nothing. Dr. Zelenka keeps poking his head around the corner and looking at me like I'm a ghost."

"What's the last thing you remember, Major?" Rodney leaned forward in his chair and looked at him with an intensity that made the hairs on the back of John's neck prickle. 

"Well, for one thing," John drawled, "I don't remember that we had any infirmary set up yet. In fact, we were all damn close to sleeping with the fishes." With a tight smile he added, "Especially you."

"Oh, shit." Rodney rubbed the back of neck. "Well, clearly you're not stupid. That will make explaining things easier." 

"I'm not getting a sense of comfort here," John protested, more wary than ever. "Get me my pants and get me out of here and then we'll talk."

"Done." Rodney reached behind his chair and pulled out a gunnysack. "I already talked to Dr. Biro about releasing you." Inexplicably, the color rose in his cheeks. “Um, you weren't actually wearing pants and or anything else when you landed in back of my Gateship."

"Puddle Jumper."

"It's a ship that goes through the Gate," Rodney protested.

"I've flown one, remember?" Doing his damnedest to exude confidence with a nod and a smile, he added, "I'm a pilot, trust me."

"But…but – " 

"Nope. Those little babies are Puddle Jumpers." John couldn't resist a smirk. "Now, what else have you guys screwed up while I've been out of it?"

"Sheppard, we don't have time for this… never mind. Yes, fine. We'll call them Puddle Jumpers. It's hardly going to matter if the Wraith get here before we can get the city's shields working." 

"Wraith?" Just hearing the word gave John a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He swung his legs off the bed. Enough of lying around. Clearly, things were going to hell, with or without him, and it was starting to piss him off.

Rodney passed the sack to John. "Clothes. Boots are on the bottom. Uh, we're a little low on supplies right now. Sorry, I had to guess on size."

"What is this?" John pulled out a green, coarsely woven shirt. "Have we suddenly gone native?"

"Oh, that. Um…." Rodney smiled weakly at him but didn't bother to clarify a damn thing. "Let me know as soon as you've changed." He handed John a radio earbud, then pointed to the matching one in his ear. "Don't lose that. They're hard to replace."

As John watched McKay leave, he mulled over all the things McKay hadn't said. For one, there was a distinct lack of details about – everything. This vague shit was getting on his nerves. He didn't intend to be blindsided if he could help it, but first he had to get out of the infirmary.

Dressing, he rubbed the shirt material between his fingers. Definitely not military issue. And what was it with the crack about the almost bacon? Were supplies that much of an issue because they'd lost everything when the city flooded? Yeah, that made sense. 

He might even accept that Dr. Weir had exerted her expertise and garnered a trade agreement with the natives that quickly. He might, but he didn't. Too many other things didn't fit. This room, for example, showed no signs of flooding. John knew better. They'd been minutes from the entire shield collapsing and this area was already under water. 

Then there was Dr. Zelenka. The little Czech geek had peeked in at him so often John was starting to wonder if he should be worry about his virtue. Why was he so damn curious about him?

They'd lost people as sections of shield collapsed, including Col. Sumner. He knew most of them never made it. He just wasn't sure if that was enough to explain how battle weary the survivors looked. He needed answers. 

Itching for action, he rooted around in the bag and pulled out a pair of soft leather boots. Hm, definitely not military issue but they fit and that's all that mattered. He picked up the earbud and made sure it was off. John had something else in mind besides dancing to McKay's tune.

Speaking of tune – no one else seemed to hear Atlantis. She sang in the background of his mind, stronger now than before. He wasn't sure what he could do with that, but it was good to have an ace in the hole. 

Dressed, he still felt naked without a weapon. Meanwhile, Dr. Biro hovered in the background and John would have to do something about that. He put the earbud in, careful not to turn it on. Pretending he was listening to a call, he announced, "Dr. Biro, there's been a change of plans. Dr. McKay's not coming here, I'm meeting him in the control room." He headed out the door before she could utter a protest. It was time to find out what the hell was going on.

~*~

John leaned on the balcony looking out over the ocean. His ears picked up at the sound of footsteps coming up behind him. He recognized that particular footstep, all right. He took his sweet time turning around.

"Major, there you are! You were supposed to radio me before you left the infirmary," Rodney scowled in disapproval. "Here I find you wandering around the city on your own. Maybe we should have Dr. Biro check you again for head injuries."

"You lied to me." John said, cutting to the chase, not sure yet just how pissed he was. "I've been looking around. A lot more than a few hours have passed since the city flooded."

"I have every intention of explaining," Rodney's chin lifted in annoyed defense. 

"You'd better." John crossed his arms over his chest. He could be just as defensive and annoyed when the situation called for it. 

"Don't blame me because you went harrowing off on your own…" Rodney's bluster suddenly deflated. "Does it look a lot different from what you remember?"

"Well, there's a lot less water." John said.

"It's all Elizabeth's fault. The moment she went back in time she created a separate reality – a second you, or rather a second version of all of us, living in a parallel world. Not that I expect you to understand quantum theory".

"As in, the universe is split into an infinite number of copies of itself in which every possible outcome to every decision ever made all exist somewhere in this infinitely layered multi-universe. That theory?" John deadpanned.

Rodney's mouth dropped open. Brushing off his shock, he said, "You're smarter than I keep giving you credit for."

"Gee, thanks, McKay."

"Trust me, that's a compliment." Rodney cleared his throat as his hands waved uselessly in the air. He looked flushed and he wouldn't meet John's eyes. 

Interesting. John would keep the thought to himself for now, but it seemed McKay found intelligence a turn-on. Something he understood perfectly, himself.

General O'Neill had pointedly mentioned that Stargate Command had relaxed or eliminated a number of restrictive, hidebound rules, including DADT. It was the General's opinion that traveling to other worlds demanded a certain flexibility. John's interest in finding out if that decision carried over to this universe would have to wait.

"That strange device on the Puddle Jumper – that was a time machine." John heard the words coming out of his mouth but he was still having a hard time wrapping his head around it. He couldn't stop himself from asking, "How far back did we – I go?"

"Ballpark? We think 10,000 years." Rodney offered up a weak smile of apology as if that could make it all better. 

"Jesus. I can't even process that." 

"To be fair, you're not our first encounter with someone from the original expedition so we've had more time to get used to the idea." Rodney snapped his fingers. "Come with me, I want to show you something."  
They traveled to another level by transporter. Transporter – and how cool was that? Walk into a closet, hit a spot on the city map, the doors open, and suddenly you're at your destination. So yeah, he might have geeked out, but subtly. Mostly. At least McKay was kind enough not to call him on it. 

Entering a room John hadn't seen before, McKay walked up to an empty case. To John it looked an awful lot like a standing coffin. He hung back a couple of paces, unaccountably leery of the thing, and waited for Rodney's explanation. 

"In your timeline, everyone that came to Atlantis died except Elizabeth, and obviously, you. Sgt. Bates found her here just a few months ago, when we were exploring this section. That's where it gets complicated." 

"Then uncomplicate it, McKay," John said, glaring.

" Coles Notes, then. Elizabeth went back in time and met the Ancient Janus. A somewhat brilliant experiment enthusiast, and the one responsible for the time machine. She spent thousands of years in this very stasis chamber trying to make sure we didn't all die horribly when we came to Atlantis 10,000 years later." For a moment, Rodney looked unaccountably sad. "I had some interesting conversations with her."

_"Being cooped up for so long, didn't you ever want to run screaming down the halls of Atlantis when you were awake?" he'd asked her._

_Elizabeth had chuckled, dimples peeking through despite the deep wrinkles in her skin. "Oh, Rodney, what makes you think I didn't?"_

"Hmm, well anyway, I'm afraid you won't be able to meet her. She died of extreme old age."

"Old age. Am I going to…?"

"No!" Rodney said, sounding nearly as horrified at the idea as John felt.

"You were in quantum stasis.…. Not unlike the state of atoms in Gate travel. That's Peter Grodin's pet theory. He's not the expert I am, naturally, but it's a plausible theory." Rodney's gaze travelled down John's body from head to toe. Empirical evidence would suggest he's correct. 

"Well, that explains everything. Not."

"You know, sarcasm doesn't really suit you, Sheppard," Rodney huffed. 

John held up his hands. "No more. Whatever the fallout is from all this, I'll deal, just, for pity's sake, tell me this timeline has alcohol." 

Rodney grinned. "That I can do."

~*~

John hiccupped. The homebrew wasn't the worst he'd had. It wasn't half-bad, in fact. He, Rodney, and Zelenka – no, Radek – they'd all decided to go with first names after the third drink – sat around a table the three of them had dragged out onto a balcony.

The balcony was part of John's newly assigned quarters. Once Radek suggested they watch the sunset nothing would do but to move the table outside. The view, god, the view. John stared out over a wide, blue sea in a city that floated on top of it like someone's private island. It got under a man's skin – made him want to keep it safe. Made him think of possibilities, desires, and things shoved down so deep he'd forgotten how to want them. 

Rodney snapped his fingers in front of John's face. Repeatedly. "You've got to meet Teyla!"

"Don't forget, Halling," Radek chimed in.

"Right, right. But Halling deals with the trade and cultural exchange crap. Yes, so does Teyla, but Sheppard – I mean John here, needs to meet her first. She's team," Rodney added proudly, just before listing to the side. 

"True." Radek leaned closer to John and stage whispered, "Halling gave us the recipe for this fine brew. Is excellent trade, don't you agree?"

"It's an awesome trade," John agreed, hiccupping again.

Radek waved his hand in front of John's face. "Do not ask Rodney how he has the ATA gene. It makes him blubber like a baby."

"Liar. I do not, you big, fat, lying liar," Rodney protested, pushing himself upright.

"Big, fat tears run down his cheeks. His nose turns red like a…" For a moment, Radek seemed a loss for words. "A Christmas deer! Yes, it's very horrifying." He snorted into his shirtsleeve. 

"Oh for…pay no attention to that ridiou…riddi..ucol…s …him – John." Rodney beamed; proud he'd accomplished something as clearly remarkable as remembering John's name. Complete with empathic finger pointing while pronouncing every word meticulously, he said, "Granted there may have been a passing moment of emotion. Nevertheless, I assure you that I do not blubber. Never have."

"I know." John did know. He remembered the city flooding and the way Rodney stayed behind, doing his damnedest to get the bay doors open. Hell, he remembered it like it just happened yesterday because for him, it had. 

The Rodney in his timeline had to have known he was going to drown, yet he stayed behind so that the rest of them would have a chance. John clapped Rodney on the shoulder, giving it a squeeze. The words caught in his throat, but he finally managed to say, "You're a steely-eyed missile man, McKay and don't let anyone tell you differently."

Rodney bumped his knee with John's. "You were supposed to be here." 

"I am here."

"No, the second time." Rodney insisted.

"I never left the first time!"

"But that's no excuse…." Rodney scowled.

Watching him, John could practically see the gears turning as Rodney tried to differentiate between the timelines. Privately, he thought Rodney looked kind of cute when he was in a snit. He made John think of a baby hedgehog, all bristles and wide, round eyes, not that he'd ever admit it.

~*~

When John woke up the next morning, he was disappointed to find himself alone. The way Rodney had crowded into his personal space earlier he'd have bet a week's pay they'd end up doing the dirty naked dance. Oh, hell, maybe it was for the best. He really didn't need the complication right now and Rodney seemed like the type of guy who had expectations.

Deciding he'd dodged a bullet, he stretched, feet poking out from the covers and immediately slapped one hand over his eyes. Evil sunlight. Groaning, he forced himself out of bed.

Rodney was right. Radek was a lying liar, telling him that the Athosian brew was hangover proof. John moved slowly, squinting against the bright morning sun streaming through his window. Czech bastard.

He made it to the bathroom without dying. Squinting he could see a toothbrush, soap, shampoo, razors, everything he could need was already here. He was oddly touched that someone had cared enough to do this for him. 

When he saw the hair gel, he knew it had to be Rodney. The bottle sported a crude sketch of Einstein's head, complete with crossed eyes and distinctive hairdo drawn in bright, green marker. John laughed out loud despite his headache.

"McKay to Sheppard."

John clapped his hand over his ear. Ow. Oh damn, he'd fallen asleep with the radio still in his ear. "McKay? What?" 

"There's something I need you see."

"Unless it's coffee I don't want to see it," John growled.

"Very amusing, Major." There was a pause. "I suppose it can wait until after breakfast. I'll meet you in the mess. McKay, out."

He'd get to the mess, once he figured out where it was, when he was good and ready. Let Rodney show up and watch him chew toast. Besides, he figured whatever was on Rodney's mind would come spilling out long before John finished eating.

Staring into the mirror, he ran a hand over his morning stubble. At least his eyes weren't that bloodshot. He went through the rest of his morning routine efficiently. It was the image of a hot, steaming cup of coffee motivating him, not seeing Rodney again, or any desire to bait that snarky attitude – that would be ridiculous.

~*~

John leaned back in his chair, watching a crew of people lining up for breakfast. It was an interesting mix of military and civilians, if a little too light on the military side for his comfort. He supposed most of them were on duty.

As mess halls went, this one had that same generic cafeteria look of most. There were a couple of notable differences. For one, his view out the tall, wide windows was spectacular. A clear blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see across miles of ocean. The mainland was just a green smudge on the horizon.

That probably explained the second notable difference. John expected to see a variety of nationalities; this was an international expedition, after all. Still, he couldn't place a number of them and he'd spent time stationed in places all over the world. 

Clothing wasn't giving him any clue. Hell, half of them were dressed in the same hybrid of military and native clothing that he had on. Ditto on language. Must be the Stargate effect because, to his ear, everyone sounded like they were speaking English. If some of them were part of the native population, they were well integrated with the Earthlings. 

Shaking his head, he had to grin because – Earthlings. 

A chair scraped the floor next to him and he looked up, expecting to see Rodney. "Dr. Weir!" 

"You're looking much better, Major Sheppard," she said, setting her tray down directly across from him. "I was hoping I'd see you here…I'm sorry, is something funny?"

He froze mid-grin. Seeing Elizabeth, while not exactly a shock – after all, he'd seen her when he woke up in the infirmary, is still weird. She isn't the Elizabeth Weir from his timeline and John couldn't help trying to find the differences. 

 

"Glad you could join me, Dr. Weir." John carefully poked at the purple hash stuff on his plate and decided to give it a pass. He'd already had enough adventure to deal with for now. "I don't suppose you could tell me where they're hiding the real coffee?"

"Sorry, we ran out a few weeks ago. Halling is working on a trade negotiation with one of our allies. He claims they have something similar to Earth's coffee beans. Meanwhile, we're all getting used to Teyla's stout tea." 

Her expression turned wry. "Saying it's effective at chasing the cobwebs away is like comparing the Grand Canyon to a sidewalk crack, but please don't tell Teyla I said that. In fact, it might be best if you don't mention tea to Teyla, at all." She held her cup up. "I suggest trying it with honey and cinnamon. A lot of honey and cinnamon."

John nodded, warming up to this Elizabeth's dry sense of humor. Things might just work out okay after all. 

"Has Dr. McKay talked to you yet?" she asked. 

"About the time ….stuff? He mentioned it." John turned the cup around in his hands. "This is so weird. I remember when Colonel Sumner and his men drowned. The shield was collapsing and I thought I lost everyone. And now, most of you are here – alive, except now I find out it's actually ten thousand years later. It's….you know."

"Unnerving?" Elizabeth suggested.

"You could say that."

She toyed with her food before finally setting her fork down and looking John straight in the eye. "I know you stepped up and took command, albeit briefly, when Colonel Sumner died."

John nodded, wondering what she was getting at. 

"I want you to do it again. Here, as head of the military on the Atlantis base."

If she'd picked up a fork and stabbed him in the hand, John couldn't have been more shocked. 

"I know what you're thinking, but you'd be wrong. Our first few weeks here took their toll, and the sad truth is, there's no one else here with your rank or experience. Frankly, Major, we're on our own here and Earth won't be sending reinforcements. Ah, Dr. McKay doesn't know I'm aware of that, so for now, we'll keep that between us."

"That and the tea," John agreed, with as much seriousness as he could muster.

"Good." 

"You realize it might take me a while to get a handle on things that everyone else already takes for granted."

"Which is why you have until the end of the week to get used to the idea. I'm sure you'll do fine, John. After all, you managed to save my life." 

He simply didn't know how to respond to that except to make sure his mouth wasn't hanging open. He could have kissed Rodney McKay for picking that moment to stride over to their table with a big mug of tea in one hand, and snapping his fingers with the other.

"I hope you're done with him, Elizabeth, we've got things to do. I need to get the Major into the control chair ASAP."

"I am. Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting."

John figured Elizabeth must have built up a generous tolerance to Rodney's ways or maybe that was just part of what made her so good at her job. It couldn't be easy balancing the needs of the science, military, and native population living here.

"Come along, Major. Places to be, things to do, and all that."

As they walked down the hallway, John couldn't resist trailing his fingers along the walls. This place was just so damn amazing. A quick glance told him Rodney clearly thought so, too. 

The moment they walked into the Chair room John realized this was the true heart of Atlantis. Taking center stage was an Ancient control chair and he immediately began plotting alternate routes to the room. In an emergency, he'd need to know the fastest way to get here from any location, and he'd make sure Rodney memorized them too. 

He pressed his fingers against the gel pads on the hand rest. "This looks exactly like the chair in Antarctica. How many of these are there?"

"No idea," Rodney said, too busy attaching leads to the chair's crystals to look up. “This is the only one we’ve found so far. Why don’t you take a seat and ask it?"

"Good idea. I'm wondering just how many of those drone weapons we have." He eased back into the chair, gaining confidence as Atlantis responded to his thoughts. One by one, he began accessing the systems as Rodney ran him through a list of essentials to look for. It didn't take long for John to figure out what Rodney was trying to do. 

First shields, then weapons, all of which John heartily approved of. Communications, short and long-range sensors, power, and navigation rounded out the list. "You're trying to find out which systems we can tie our naquadah generators into."

"Those with the most chance of success, yes." Rodney gave John a searching look. "What's wrong?"

 

"Nothing. Well, you know – naquadah generators."

"Ah, still thinking that everything's gone, flooded out into the ocean when your shield collapsed?”

John nodded. Leave it to Rodney to know exactly what he meant. He watched as Rodney turned a wide, flat crystal over in his hands. Despite himself, the sure movement of those long, agile fingers gave John something completely different to think about. 

"Just don't start humming, _Our hearts will go on_ ," Rodney grumbled.

Reaching for his laptop, Rodney went back to work and John wilted in relief. The last thing he wanted to deal with was sympathy. A good wise-crack, now that was something he could handle. Damn if he might just hum a line or two of that song once they finished here, just to see the look on Rodney's face. If he tried, he bet he could be really annoying at it. 

"How much longer?" John asked, ready to get out of the chair and stretch.

"We're almost done. I just sent this list to Radek," Rodney said, packing his tools away. "He'll get to work marrying the Ancient tech to ours. Which should go much easier, by the way, with your gene to initialize some of the more stubborn Ancient machinery."

"Radek? Not you?"

"While he's doing that, you and I are going exploring. I still want to see if there's some way to recharge a ZPM. It's a big city. It only makes sense that there's a ZPM lab here, somewhere."

It was instinctive. As soon as Rodney mentioned finding a way to charge a ZPM the chair began pulling up specs on various areas throughout the city.

"Parts of the city are blacked out, Rodney, I don't know if – there's something wrong in the central tower."

"You can see that?"

Instead of answering, John pulled up a 3-D display of the gate room. It rotated above their heads in glaring color. 

"What the hell’s wrong with the Stargate, Rodney?"

"Ah, Elizabeth didn't tell you."

John jumped up, breaking off the chair interface and glared at Rodney. "I should have been told something was wrong in the gate room immediately!"

"Well, excuse me for wanting to give you time to recover before tossing another crisis at you." 

More gently than John would've given him credit for, especially under the circumstances, Rodney softly added, "The damage to the gate room happened weeks ago, John. There's nothing you could have done about it even if you were here, except possibly get yourself killed trying to stop it." 

"Rodney, what happened?"

"Col. Sumner blew up the Stargate. We're still not sure how he managed it to do it and not take out the city."

"Casualty status?"

"Just Col. Sumner." Rodney shook his head, puzzlement written across his face. "He planned it. Grodin discovered later that he'd altered the night duty roster, assuring he'd be alone in the Gate room."

"I need to see it." John insisted. "Now. Are you coming with me, or not?"

With a nod, Rodney walked alongside him, filling him in on a few of the details on the way. 

John felt easier once they got to the control tower and he could see the destruction for himself. He stepped over cables and wiring to get a closer look at the remaining pieces of broken gate. "Why hasn't this been cleared?"

"Believe me we're working on it but it's not exactly something we can throw over our shoulder and toss out the window," Rodney replied. 

"What's the hold up?" John asked.

One of the scientists stepped over a large, fat cable snaked across the floor to join them. "If I might explain?" he politely asked.

"You're…" John racked his memory to come up with a name. 

"Dr. Peter Grodin. Part of the science division. This…" his gesture encompassed the mess in from of them, "is still surprisingly valuable. Despite its near total destruction, we've been able to pull quite an amount of information from it."

"Yes, fine, the Major's understands your point." With an annoyed shooing motion, Rodney huffed, "Don't you have work, Grodin? Over there, somewhere that's not here?"

Shooting a glare at Rodney, Dr. Grodin turned on his heel and stalked back over to his station. 

Solemnly, Rodney pointed out other areas of the room. "The explosion made a smoldering wreck of the DHD and most of the Ancient consoles suffered heavy damage. We've repaired some of it. Do you need me to make you a list?" 

"Yeah, do that.” John made a slow circle around the broken pieces of Stargate. "Can we still contact Earth?" 

He could have heard a pin drop. All activity in the gate room froze and the surrounding quiet grew heavy as he waited for Rodney's answer. It made John's trigger finger itchy, because, damn, this couldn't be good. 

"We can eventually replace this gate with another but the crystal that dials Earth is gone." 

John didn't like the squirrely way Rodney avoided John's eyes. Why wouldn't he…. "You were going to steal my Stargate!" 

"What are you talking about? Do you mean the Stargate on P12-833, where we found you? It's hardly your gate, Sheppard," Rodney blustered. 

John narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, fine, that may possibly have been one of the reasons we went there."

"Don't call it P12-833," John growled. “It makes it sounds like any other planet. It's not. It's…" He couldn’t put his finger on why it was so important to give the planet a real name but that didn't change the way he felt about it. He folded his arms across his chest and used his command voice. "We're calling it, _Namor_."

"Oh, I do not believe you're seriously suggesting…" Rodney sputtered. "Wait, I thought you didn't remember anything about being in stasis."

"I don't. I…just random flashes." He rubbed at the uneasy tension creeping up the back of his neck. He couldn't explain, he couldn't even come up with a theory, but he knew it was important. "It just needs a name, okay?" 

Before the argument could continue, Teyla stepped into the room. She moved gracefully towards them, nodding first at Rodney before fixing her calm gaze on John. "I am pleased to see you in much better health than when we first met, Major Sheppard."

Ouch. Nothing like a gently served reminder that he owed his life to these people. "You have me at a disadvantage, ma'am. I'm afraid I don't remember our first meeting." 

"I thought not. After all, you were unconscious the entire time.” She smiled. "I am Teyla Emmagan but please, call me Teyla. I couldn't help notice you and Rodney have wasted no time getting acquainted."

John tried not to blink or let his mouth hang open. Teyla had to be one of the most gorgeous women he'd ever seen. Lithe and strong, there was a hint of something wild underneath. She reminded him of a petite, bronze Amazon – well capable of handing him his ass on a platter. 

"I heard you brought us the tea?" Inwardly, John cringed. Crap. He'd just brought up the infamous stout tea that he wasn't supposed to mention. Rodney's eye roll from the sidelines wasn't helping either. "Uh, thank you."

"I am pleased you enjoy it, but I have other things to discuss." She tilted her head up and pinned him with her sharp gaze. "I believe Col. Sumner destroyed this Stargate because of the Wraith, Major Sheppard. I am certain of it."

~*~

Rodney, along with John and Teyla, stood in front of the hologram, watching the Ancient's version of a teacher give them the – War Against the Wraith – spiel a second time. Stepping up to the dais, Rodney put a halt to it before it could finish. "Sorry – power drain."

He could appreciate John's determined if slightly confused expression – ready to shoot something but needing a better idea of the danger they were facing. That Rodney could do. "The two of you, come with me."

Rodney urged them along to his quarters. He glanced at Teyla, who, as usual, anticipated him. She was already radioing Ford to meet them there.

What might be roomy quarters for one turned out to be cramped space for four. John sat next to Rodney on the bed, Ford leaned against the door, and Teyla used the little remaining space to pace, too agitated to sit. 

Making no bones about checking out the place, John's eyes lit on the multiple framed degrees hanging on the wall. It was neater than he'd expected, with a lack of personal touches, the picture of a cat by the bedside making the only exception. 

"Go ahead and fill Sheppard in, Teyla," Rodney said, interrupting John's observations. 

"A few months ago, when Dr. Weir came to Athos, seeking refuge for her people, we thought it strange that you had never heard of the Wraith. We had never met anyone who did not know of them.”

"That's her polite way of saying that she thought we were liars, Major." Ford said. "But they traded with us anyway. Good thing, too, or things could've gone much worse for us. We had the tools and medical supplies, and they had the fresh food and trade contacts."

"True," Rodney agreed. "Granted, I've got diplomacy coming out my ears between Elizabeth's and Teyla's way of doing things." He shrugged. "But at least I don't have to do it."

"Major Sheppard, I understand that you are now the highest ranking military officer among your people. Dr. Weir has requested you honor that, correct?" Teyla asked.

John blinked. "Yeah." He drummed his fingers on his thigh. "Not sure how I feel about that. It's a command I held just long enough for nearly everyone to die."

She waved his protest away. "Prove you are worthy to me."

"Uh, what?" John turned to Rodney. "Is this some kind of native, cultural thing, because I like a little more warning before I take my clothes off."

Ford snickered, Rodney rolled his eyes, and Teyla's mouth dropped open. 

"Clearly, Daniel Jackson made you read far too many SG-1 reports," Rodney huffed. "Hm, I always wondered where those reports went."

If nothing else, it lightened the tension in the room and Teyla regained her sense of calm. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "There is a Wraith here. I sense it."

"Wraith," John repeated. "You can sense them?"

"When they are close, yes. I…" She cast a glance in Rodney's direction and he motioned for her to continue. "I believe Col. Sumner also sensed its presence in some way, and that he destroyed the Stargate to protect Earth."

"I heard they can get into your head. Make you see things that aren't there," Ford said.

Teyla nodded. "From what Rodney tells me, Earth would make a desirable, rich, new feeding ground for the Wraith. Perhaps it manipulated Col. Sumner's dreams, trying to find Earth's location." 

"Jesus, how close would one of those things have to be to do that?" John asked.

"I am not certain. I suspect it depends on the age and strength of the Wraith," she answered.

"Yeah." Ford held up his palm, wiggling it back and forth. "I've got a bet going with Doc Biro that it has to do with how long it's been since they fed." 

Seeing John's confused expression, he added, "They can suck the life out of you with their hand within seconds. I've seen it." He grimaced." We ran into one of them on a supply run. Figured it was a scout. Poor Rollins never stood a chance. It took two full rounds of ammo just to slow it down. If it hadn't got swept up in one of those beams I wouldn't be here talking about it."

John's face turned to stone, and Rodney knew exactly how he felt. The idea of the enemy getting any kind of foothold in Atlantis made his gut roil, too.

"I see you believe me, John." Teyla said. "However, Sgt. Bates does not."

"Bates is an idiot." Rodney nudged John in the ribs. "The man has issues with the Athosians living here. Elizabeth claims she's coaching him in diplomacy. It's a complete waste of effort and time, if you ask me.” 

"How long do you think the Wraith has been here?" John asked.

"It could have been in hibernation." Ford suggested. He glanced at Teyla for confirmation.

Teyla's brow furrowed in thought. “The Hives should not waken for another fifty years. I cannot explain how one came to be here, but I know what I sense."

"I might know." John said. "I was trying to fly Elizabeth and Radek to safety. One minute we were in the Jumper bay, the next we were in space, thrown into the middle of a firefight. It had to be the Wraith."

Rodney jumped into the conversation. "So…you think that's when one materialized in the city and it's been here all this time?"

"Or maybe it crash landed." John shrugged.

"Ten thousand years ago?" Ford look stunned. "Can they survive that long?"

"Not ten thousand years." Rodney shook his head. "Impossible."

Ford didn't look reassured. "You're sure? The Wraith have been around a long time. They stayed in this galaxy even after the Ancients left."

Dawning horror crept over Teyla's face and she reached out and gripped John's arm. "The Wraith beam holds their captives in storage until they can be delivered to the hive." Her lip curled. "They need their food kept alive until they are ready to feed. Could one keep itself in storage that long?" 

"Do you think it's possible?" Ford said, sounding as horrified as Teyla looked. "McKay! Is it?"

Rodney's stomach turned at the idea, no matter how slight the possibility. He found himself listing towards John, drawing strength from the utterly imaginary idea that somehow John Sheppard could protect them.

Hating every word, Rodney admitted, "Given those circumstances, then no, there's no reason for it not to stay alive indefinitely… like Sheppard did." 

"That doesn't explain why it's showing up now," John said, scowling. "Not unless – ."

" – When we came through the gate it triggered some kind of automated revival function." Rodney finished for him. 

"Uh, guys, it's going to be real hungry."

"Thank you, oh so much, for that reminder, Ford," Rodney grumbled.

"Stop picking on the nice young Lieutenant, Rodney, and find us a way to narrow down the search. We need to find this thing and kill it," John said, sounding far too chipper.

Since working for the SGC he'd discovered military, plus enthusiasm, usually meant something was about to get blown up. Rodney had absolutely no problem with it being the Wraith.

"I'll finish modifying the internal sensors." He looked up and caught John's questioning gaze. "Caldwell never believed Teyla. Neither did Elizabeth. So even though I started – ."

"They didn't make it a priority," John finished for him. "Radek can look over the data leading up to Sumner's last day. Maybe there'll be some information there we can use". 

"Good thinking," Rodney agreed, sorry that he hadn't thought of it first. "We can meet in my lab, say, in an hour? Uh, I assume that's all right with you, Sheppard?"

"Make it two. I need Ford to show me the armory and fill me in on what kind of ordinance we'll need to take this thing down."

~*~

By the time they all gathered in the lab, Rodney had a color-coded map of the city pulled up on the largest display. Teyla stood next to him, shaking her head in frustration. "I'm sorry, Rodney, I'm unable to sense the Wraith from here but I very much doubt it has left Atlantis."

"It could be hiding out in one of the lower levels," John said. He pointed at a corner of the map, adding, "It's a likely bet it's holed up near this area." His eyes met Rodney's. "I couldn't get any readings when I tried to access this area from the control chair."

Rodney already knew that, but it made him feel better knowing he and John were on the same page. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it was almost a relief when John slipped into command mode like he was born to it. 

"Ford, I want you working with Teyla on this. Put together teams of marines and Athosians. Teyla, are any others here with your particular gift willing to help?" John asked. When she agreed that, indeed, there were a few, he added, "Put at least six to a team and try to include at least one of the Athosian sensitives."

"Remind everyone to be careful," Rodney warned. "Some of these areas were underwater for a long time. There could be structural damage that we haven't had a chance to clear yet."

"You heard him," John said. "We don't want to compound the problem by having the floor collapse under anyone."

"I will inform Dr. Biro there maybe casualties," Teyla said. 

"Good thinking," John agreed. "Radio me when everyone is ready."

With Ford and Teyla off organizing teams, it left just the two of them alone in the lab.  
Rodney's eyes kept drifting over to John.

"You're staring at me, McKay. What is it?"

"Nothing. Um, I couldn't help notice you're taking this command thing to heart. I mean - you're good at it. Of course you're good – training and all that. But I wasn't expecting it to be...." He snapped his mouth shut because blurting out that he thought it was hot was not a direction Rodney dared let the conversation go in. 

"I'm just doing my job." 

Without warning, Rodney's brain provided an image of John giving commands in his dress blues. That was so not fair. He shifted in his seat and tried to focus on the job at hand, namely mapping out the search areas. He almost missed John's softly spoken question.

"What do you think happened to him? The other me. There must have been a damn big reason for him not to come through the gate."

"I never knew. Oh, I asked, believe me I asked." Rodney still took it as an affront that the other Sheppard had ducked out of the program.

"Elizabeth, as you might have noticed, is not exactly a blabbermouth. She's hardly going to announce it if his reason was personal." And oh, hadn't that rankled, that she wouldn't tell him what the hell was going on with Sheppard. But, by then, they'd gotten the green light to go to Atlantis and he'd been too busy to think about it. 

Rodney pushed himself away from the monitor, ready for a tea break. He hoped he didn't sound too resentful when he said, "He wouldn't be the first person to stay on Earth because of family. Oh hell, for all I know, he decided on a coin toss. You seem the type."

"Very funny. This is all so weird. I don't – I mean, I haven't seen my family for years." John sighed. "I don't suppose it matters."

"It matters," Rodney insisted. "If it's important to you, it matters."

There was a long, empty pause. For once, Rodney was grateful that preparing the tea gave his hands something to do. He absently passed John a cup of tea, lost in his own thoughts. He had no idea how to convince…"We need you. And I mean we seriously need you here, John."

"That's very generous of you, Rodney, and easy for you to say, but maybe we should wait and see how much trouble my being here causes." 

"Pfft, you're not going to cause trouble. The other you isn't here so entropic cascade isn't a problem. Mind you, I don't suggest that you hike off to Earth, if we ever do make contact. And I'm just being cautious, here. Dr. Lee's latest theory suggests that wouldn't necessarily affect you anyway – John?"

John had stepped closer, almost leaning into Rodney's face. "I remember those last moments as clear as day. I remember how you stayed behind, knowing you'd drown, and still doing your best to give the rest of us a few extra minutes just for a chance to survive. I won't ever forget that."

The whole conversation pissed Rodney off. It didn't matter what the other McKay did in some other timeline, what mattered was right here, right now. "Fine, you remember me as a sacrificial ass, now let me tell him you something. Coming here without a strong gene carrier turned out to be a bitch. Even when we could turn something on, half the time it didn't work." He couldn't even remember the last time he’d had an honest-to-god hot shower.

"You want enough sacrifice to go around? How about our shield? Oh yes – we don't have one!"  
Without a shield, Atlantis floated on top of the ocean like a sitting duck. Rodney derived no comfort from Teyla's assurance that the Wraith would remain in hibernation for another fifty years. As far as he was concerned, without hard data to back it, her assertion was nothing more than fanciful, wishful thinking. 

He couldn't hold back the torrent of words now that he'd started. "But the worst of it, Sheppard– the absolute worst – is that we lost most of our the gene carriers within the first week. Most of them died stupidly, all because they couldn't control the Ancient technology well enough."

After that, loss and desperation ground itself into their daily lives, until, on a good day, Rodney was merely terrified. Exhausted and terrified. Mustn't forget the exhausted, but he was damned if he was going to give up. He was breathing hard now, and looked up at Sheppard trying to read his expression. 

"What happened with Sumner?" John asked. 

"We've never really figured that out." A shock had gone through the city when Col. Sumner blew up the Stargate. Worst, he'd destroyed any hope they had of receiving help from Earth with it. There were plenty of theories flying around as to why he'd done it but that's all they were, theories. 

Things became even more grim after that. Rodney could admit there were times he'd found excuses to work in the more remote areas of the city. He simply couldn't bear to run into Elizabeth as she walked the hallways, her expression pale, grim, and a too painful mirror of his own.

"That's all?" 

For a moment, Rodney wondered if he'd been speaking to an idiot, but no, John was on the radio.

"Copy that. Sheppard out." John glared at the search areas on the display as though they personally offended him. 

"Find out this is going to take longer than you thought?" Rodney asked. 

"What the hell happened here, McKay? There aren't enough Marines left on base to put together more than two teams. It's going to take weeks to search for the Wraith at this rate." 

"I'll send you the reports." 

"I want to hear it from you. What happened to my men?"

It looked like he wasn't going to get out of this conversation. Rodney poured himself more tea and began talking. 

"We've already gone over what happened when we arrived. Everyone was so excited with so much to explore and learn. I warned everyone to be careful. Warned them that we were dealing with advanced, potentially dangerous technology and – well, never mind. Some listened. Some didn't. 

"We were in over our head from the beginning. Energy monsters, alien microbes, even the planet's weather worked against us. Col. Sumner and the military put themselves on the line time and again to protect us. There were casualties. Too many of them. Under all that loss and stress, Col. Sumner began acting strangely, but weren't we all by then?"

Rodney balled his hands into fists to keep them from shaking. "Early on, Elizabeth convinced the Athosians to join us, inviting them to Atlantis to live. Caldwell didn't like it, but it wasn't his call." That had been the one good break they'd had, but it wasn't enough. 

It they were going to survive they needed Atlantis functional, and that meant…. "John, do you remember Dr. Carson Beckett?" 

"The Scottish doctor who almost blew me and O'Neill out of the sky? Yeah, I remember him. That kind of thing is a little hard to forget."

"He'd been doing research on gene manipulation. He wanted a way to activate the Ancient gene in anyone with the recessive trait. "

John nodded. "I figured it was something like that when he hit me up for blood. How did that turn out anyway?"

"He had a change of plans and didn't come on the expedition. But, at the last minute he handed me all of his research."

"And you tried it." John put his hand up to his ear and Rodney waited while John responded to the incoming call. He gathered his things together and was ready when John said, "This conversation will have to wait. It's time to go find us a Wraith."

~*

John was beginning to get a deep understanding of what this expedition was up against in terms of power and resources. He quickly pulled his pants legs up over cold, clammy skin, thinking there was a soul deep difference between seeing a red power line drop on a display and having a nice, warm shower turn to an ice bath. Damn it, Rodney had warned him, too.

He swiped a towel over his hair, sopping up the worst of the water. Like it or not, McKay knew his stuff. John had a growing respect for him and the rest of his team. Not only did they work well together, Rodney seemed relieved to hand the team's leadership over to him. Teyla graciously followed suit, and it had never been a question with Ford. It put one worry to rest. At the beginning, he thought there might be some resentment coming into the team cold turkey. He shivered. He winced at the bad pun. Definitely time for a hot drink.

He planned to ask Rodney to join him. He seemed to like hanging out with him, well enough that every time John asked, he'd drop what he was doing to join him. Sometimes, John was certain there was something there – a spark of interest that wasn't the least bit scientific. 

He'd catch a look, or Rodney would bring him a trinket from the lab. He'd stand there in his lab coat, impatiently waiting for John to activate it, his smile busting out, wide and clear like sunshine, every time John did. 

Other times Rodney would completely invade his personal space as if it were perfectly normal. Up until now, John's questions had been aimed at catching up on everything he'd missed since the expedition's arrival. Maybe it was time for him to ask a different kind of question. 

By this time, he could've have walked from his quarters to the lab in his sleep. Some days John thought he spent more time there than anywhere else in the city. This time, he walked in to see Rodney at his desk, poking at his laptop, and four other scientists working quietly, absorbed in their work.

"Ready for a break, McKay?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Rodney peered around John's shoulder. "You don't have Teyla with you? Thank god. She's been hovering about, nagging me about the sensors."

"You're safe."

Rodney grabbed John by the elbow and pulled him into a small alcove. "Sh. Keep this between us." He plugged the tea kettle in and with a sparkle in his eye, pulled a French press from one of the cupboards. 

"It's ready?"

"Just a small batch for now. It will take time to roast enough beans for everyone." He handed John a small paper bag with the top curled down. "Go ahead. Open it."

Rodney's enthusiasm was contagious. John gently opened the bag, giving it all the proper consideration that was clearly expected of him. He took a deep breath and let the deep aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans sink in. Heaven.

It wasn't long before he was sitting across from Rodney with the first cup of coffee he'd had in weeks. John curled his hands around his cup, willing the heat to sink into his entire body.

"Cold shower, hm?"

"Shut up, McKay." John shook his head, knowing he'd just opened himself up for a month of harmless teasing. Time to change the subject.

"You can't blame Teyla for being anxious, you know. It's been weeks and we still haven't found the Wraith. Considering our lack of manpower, having you tweak the sensors is our best bet.”

"You still believe there's a Wraith in the city?" Rodney asked. "I do, because I believe Teyla. I just wasn’t sure you still did."

"Yeah, well, I do." John stared down into his coffee mug. "I've been having – dreams." He blew out a sigh. "Let's just say, if these dreams are half as bad as Sumner's then he's a god-damn hero for blowing up the gate to protect Earth."

Rodney grew very quiet and looked more distressed than John could remember seeing him. "Hey, buddy, we'll find it. Who knows, maybe I'll find a clue to its whereabouts in my dreams. It can't hide forever."

"Deliberately dreaming about the Wraith." Rodney shuddered. "Well, that sounds all kinds of horrible."

John brushed his concern off. "I can handle a few nightmares. That just means it's close and that gives us a better chance of finding it." 

Rodney wasn't buying it, and John didn't want to talk about it. "Your turn. Tell me about Ford and the gene therapy."

"I still don't know what went wrong." Rodney rubbed his eyes, adding softly, "We needed more people with the ATA gene desperately. Oh, not at first, but when we lost any hope of getting back to Earth. Worse, explosion set off a warning beacon. It took time to shut it down."

"Sending out a handy calling card to any Wraith close enough to hear it," John said. 

"Exactly. We couldn't access the long range scanners. We still had hadn't found access to the city's weaponry, and we no way to activate it if we did." Rodney stopped talking. This time he was the one staring into his coffee mug. 

"Tell me the rest," John gently urged. 

"I couldn't get anyone else interested on working with Carson's notes so I decided to do it myself. I don't know if it was from a sense of duty, or desperation, but Lt. Ford volunteered for the gene therapy."

"He said he was getting better."

Rodney sighed. "That doesn't make it any less my fault. Anyway, after the side effects manifested, Elizabeth banned me from trying again. "

He was missing something obvious, he knew it. "Carson took my blood…."

"He took the other John Sheppard's blood. Or, maybe he never did." Rodney shrugged. "All I can tell you is that I had a weaker gene sample than yours to work with. The entire project was vastly experimental. Certainly, your FDA was never going to allow him to work on it on Earth." 

Rodney held up his empty cup up in a silent entreaty for more. 

"Do not give me the puppy dog eyes. It won't work," John protested. 

"It always works," Rodney said, a tiny smile breaking through. 

John snatched the cup from his hand and stalked over to the pot. Pushy astrophysicists. At least he didn't have to admit to anyone that he'd do a lot more than pour coffee to get Rodney to unwind and smile. He worked too damn hard. They all did. 

Returning with a full cup and trying to keep his voice casual, John asked, "So, we aren't on Earth, there's no FDA, are there any other regulations that don't exist anymore out here?"

"Well, we got rid of that ridiculous American military policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. You can thank me for that," Rodney said.

"Oh, really." This, he had to hear.

"I suppose the Canadian government had some influence. However, the SGC wanted me and I wasn't about to deal with narrow-minded obscurantism in another galaxy. Who knew when we might get back? What if I wanted to get married?"

"Ah, so then…."

"Go ahead, you can ask." Rodney pointed at himself. "Again, thanks to me."

Years of repression made it hard to get the words out, but Rodney sat waiting, clearly not about to let John off the hook. "So, you're gay."

"Tut-tut. You're jumping to conclusions, Sheppard. I prefer to think of myself as an opportunist." 

John spit his coffee all over his shirtfront. Rodney, the bastard, didn't even have the decency to pass him a rag to wipe up with. "You did that on purpose!"

"I have to take my little pleasures where I can get them, Sheppard. God knows there aren't many of them."

"Un-huh. Why do I have the feeling there's still something you haven't told me?" John asked. 

"Have you ever wondered why I have the ATA gene while your version of McKay didn't?" He gazed down at his hands. "I went against Elizabeth's orders and used the gene therapy on myself."

An icy shiver ran down John's spine. He searched Rodney's face. "Your eyes?" 

"I didn't suffer the same side effects as Ford. Some itching and burning. A few headaches. Teyla's tea helps." He snorted softly. "I know. It's ironic. We finally have our first coffee harvest and I'll probably have to keep drinking the tea anyway."

They continued talking, mostly about mundane things; power fluctuations, the condition of the Puddle Jumpers, Teyla's ability to kick ass, when Rodney cocked his head toward the door. "Walk with me."

John went along, mostly because Rodney hadn't steered him wrong yet. They ended up in one of the smaller auxiliary labs. Radek was there taking readings from an Ancient device. John had his fingers crossed that it would turn out to something they could use against the Wraith.

Seeing them enter, Radek pushed his glasses up on his nose. "You are going to tell the Major, I assume? It's about time."

"Whoa, tell me what?" John halted in his tracks and took in the surroundings. Not that he expected any particular threat, but with Ancient technology, one never knew. Just the fact that Rodney wanted to have this conversation with just himself and Radek was enough to put him on guard. 

He turned and a smile slowly crept across his face. "You've converted this lab space into a war room. How long has this been going on?"

"Long before you got here, Major, although we didn't get serious about it until we lost contact with Earth," Radek said, stepping up to the whiteboard in the middle of room. 

The board's surface held a combination of equations, gate addresses, and what looked to be star maps. "Rodney's idea, but of course he couldn't have done it without my help. We depend on technology but what if we cannot access the computers or displays due to a power shortage?" Radek tapped the whiteboard. "Now we have a backup."

"Impressive." John meant it. The level of complexity and detail in the maps and miniature scale models had to have taken a hundred hours of labor at the very least. 

Rodney puffed out his chest. "Naturally. After all, war is something of a science."

"I knew that," John said. "I just didn't know you did."

There was a pause while Rodney scowled and Radek sputtered something in Czech. John ignored it. "You're not using all of your resources."

"What are you talking about? We've accounted for every resource we have," Rodney protested.

"Nope." John rocked up on his toes. "The Puddle Jumpers have an independent power source. You're not taking advantage of that." He grinned. He had to hand it to the geeks, they didn't waste any time arguing. Radek grabbed a laptop and immediately began scrolling through schematics of the jumper's engines. Meanwhile, Rodney cleared another whiteboard and began jotting down equations. 

Words like torque, ratio, and power output flew between the two scientists. John watched the show, a wild display of snapping fingers and techno babble, and made sure to stay out of the way of flying spittle. 

When they finally stopped, Rodney and Radek exchanged another of those long looks. It was beginning to piss him off. "McKay!"

"Fine! The unfortunate fact is, Radek and I have good reason to believe we're in this mess because Sumner was acting on orders from the IOA."

"Of course he was," John agreed. "As I understand it, General O'Neill had similar orders when he went to Abydos." He looked back and forth between their shocked faces. "It's not that hard to understand, guys. He did what was necessary to protect Earth."

Radek recovered first and began swearing in Czech. John might not have understood the words but he got the gist. Rodney rubbed at his forehead and muttered under his breath. John didn't listen too closely, but he was fairly certain it was physically impossible for Generals to bend that way.

~*~

After weeks of searching, they finally got some good news. "Good news in a matter of speaking," Rodney admitted to Elizabeth.

Sheppard, Teyla, Ford and Rodney stood in Elizabeth's office. Seated at her desk, she calmly gazed back at their group, and with one raised eyebrow gave a nod for Rodney to continue. 

Ford jumped in. "We've found a crashed Dart ma'am." He beamed. "Teyla was right all along."

"Do we have a security detail on that, Major Sheppard?" Elizabeth asked, the stark paleness of her face a sharp contrast to the dark worry in her eyes.

"It's taken care of, Elizabeth," John reassured her. "We're moving the Dart to one of the unused labs in the East quarter. There's a holding cell close by if we need it." Grimly, he added, "So far there's no sign of the Wraith, but I promise, we'll find it."

"I need to get back and check Radek's progress on reverse engineering the beaming unit." Rodney took a half step towards the door. "If you don't need me for anything else?"

"One moment, Rodney," Teyla said. "Will you be able to determine when the Wraith materialized in Atlantis?" 

Rodney had to give her credit, Teyla did an admirable job keeping any hint of an, I told you so, from her voice or expression. Something that he'd never entertained trying to hide in his own dealings. Oh, there was a hint of justified smugness in her eye but he prided himself on being the only one to see it. 

"We will, and we'll know how many Wraith – oh, did no one think of that? And how many, if any, remain in data storage," Rodney shot an approving look at John, because of course John realized there might be others held in storage just waiting to be let loose. Why else choose a lab near a holding cell? 

"For the record, I've been able to ascertain, with some minor assistance from Peter Grodin, that the Wraith Dart is at least 10,000 years old." Rodney continued. "I'd like to point out, Teyla was right all along. Opening the Stargate somehow signaled the storage container to release the Wraith."

In the midst of a hand wave, he caught Elizabeth's expression. She'd raised her eyebrow of – I can still fire your ass. Rodney quickly wiped the smile off his face. "Um, naturally we'll focus on finding out when and where the Wraith is now.”

"Good. I assume you all have something to do," Elizabeth looked pointedly at each one in turn. "Teyla, please stay. Not only do I owe you an apology, but I'd like to go over the proposed treaty with the Pellarians. There's a certain cultural difference I'd like to get a better handle on before we commit."

"What's that about?" John asked Rodney after they left Elizabeth's office. They fell into step, walking down the hall together. Ford had gone on ahead to inspect the holding cell while Teyla stayed behind to consult with Elizabeth.

"The cultural difference thing?" Rodney automatically matched his step with John's. "Let's just say we've learned to be doubly careful since we ended up in the harvest festival from hell."

"That sounds ominous. What happened?" John nudged Rodney's shoulder. "Did Radek tell everyone his hooch was hangover proof again?" 

"If only. It turned out we were at a harvest for Wraith worshippers. It turned out we were the harvest." He brushed off John's horrified expression. "Relax, everyone got out alive and we learned a valuable lesson. There're a lot fewer mistakes now that Teyla and Elizabeth are working together."

"Speaking of Teyla, she looked damn smug about being right all along about the Wraith." John grinned. "Good for her." 

"You're just itching to shoot at something aren't you?” Rodney asked. “Ah-ah, don't deny it, I can see your fingers practically twitching for a trigger to pull." He turned serious. "Just how bad are the nightmares?"

John sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, clearly reluctant to talk about it, but Rodney had to know. "Sheppard, you're not going to try to blow something up like Sumner, are you?"

That elicited a weak sounding chuckle. "No, Rodney, I'm not going to blow something up, but I'd give my right arm for a good night's sleep.” He clapped his hand down on Rodney's shoulder. "Find this damn Wraith for me, okay?"

Looking at John, seeing the dark circles under his eyes and finally noticing the weary, exhausted slump of his shoulders put a fresh urgency to the hunt. How had he missed this before? All Rodney could do was nod and privately vow that no one on his staff would sleep until they found and killed the Wraith tormenting John's dreams. 

In an attempt at reassurance, he gave John a brief pat on the arm. Rodney pulled back quickly. He shoved his hand in his pocket and refused to think about the warmth of John's body, or his smooth, taut muscles just a thin layer of fabric away. If he leaned closer, well, that was just to make listening easier while John outlined their next plan of attack.

~*~

Six hours later, using every trick at his disposal, including the modified sensors, Teyla's Wraith sense, and yes, even some vague clues John discovered in his dreams, Rodney could finally narrow their search to one area.

John immediately ordered the search teams to meet him in the ready room. As he brought the teams up to speed and assigned search areas, Rodney handed out his modified life sign detectors. "The LSD's can now designate between Wraith life signs and –"

"And human." John said. He had already activated his with an ease that Rodney envied. "Cool."

Ford made the rounds, checking that each team was well equipped with ordinance and passing out C-4 like Halloween candy. Patting her vest pocket full extra ammo, Teyla smiled. It made Rodney very glad she wasn’t after him. He'd seen cozier smiles on a shark. 

When Ford was finally satisfied, he stepped back and nodded at Sheppard. "We're in good shape, Sir."

"Good. We'll split up here. Keep moving, watch your back, and radio if you find anything suspicious. Remember," John continued, "the Wraith can get into your head, so make sure you're targeting it, and not one of our guys."

It was no surprise to Rodney when it was his team that ran into the first signs of the Wraith. 

John knelt down beside the withered corpse. "No dog tags." He pointed to one desiccated wrist. "Teyla, do you recognize the leather bracelet?" 

"Halling's cousin wore one like this." Sadness filled her eyes. "He has not been seen for three days. We believed he had gone to the mainland."

Standing, John grimly nodded. "I'll talk to Elizabeth about getting everyone some kind of identification to wear." His gaze met Rodney's, who couldn't agree more when John said, "No one should be left wondering what happened to their loved ones."

The LSD beeped, pulling Rodney back on task. "I've got a signal!" Still staring down at the life signs detector, he pointed to a dark hall to his left. "That way."

"You're sure it's the Wraith?" Ford asked, his P-90 raised and ready to shoot.

"Unless you can think of someone idiotic enough to go wandering around down there in the dark," Rodney snapped. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Easy, McKay," John softly commanded. 

"Well, I'm sorry, Major. I react to terror in a certain way and in case it's escaped your notice we're about to step into an extremely terrifying situation." He might as well have been babbling at the wall for all the notice his team took of his very legitimate concerns. 

John wisely let Teyla take point. Her walk bristled with fierce determination, making Rodney feel ridiculously proud to have her on his team. When she suddenly halted, head raised and weapon cocked, he knew they were close. 

They'd reached the end of the hall and stood at the top of a long flight of stairs. Rodney peered down into the gloom and wished he had a better light to see by than the measly glare of his P-90. "There's too much flood damage, Maybe we should come back later."

"Major, the Wraith is close. I can sense it." Teyla said. 

Even Rodney could feel the frustrated energy rolling off her and knew there was no way in hell they'd be turning back now.

Ford laid his hand on Rodney's shoulder. "Stay behind me."

He didn't need to be told twice. They headed down the steps single file, this time with John at the front. Sacrificial idiot. Rodney kept his complaints to himself, but only because he didn’t want to give their position away. 

The room they stepped into looked familiar. "I know this place. Radek wanted to use it as a design lab to build equipment for the botanists," Rodney whispered. "Something to do with off-world harvests and labor trade.”

"Another harvest festival? Is that your way of saying he was building a still?" John whispered back. Rodney just knew John was grinning at him in the dark.

"My point is, this area should have power." Setting his P-90 down on the closest bench, he tore his laptop away from the Velcro bindings securing it to his back. "Give me one minute. Okay, we've got a problem. This Wraith isn't just roaming and dining his way through Atlantis, it’s attached something to one of the systems."

He moved to the largest of the three control consoles. Getting down on one knee for a closer look, Rodney poked gingerly at the organic looking tech clinging to its underside. "Teyla, come over here. Have you ever seen anything like this?" 

Veiny-looking wires ran from a bulbous green device roughly the size of Rodney's hand. Gelatinous goo attached the device securely to the console while the wires radiated out in all directions – a pulsating spider's web of Wraith tech.

"Whatever it tried to interface with, it didn't work," John said, bending down for a closer look. "The end of these wires where it tried to access the internal components are fried." 

Disregarding Rodney's warning, John poked at the wires. Rubbing the char off on his fingers, he said, "It looks like Atlantis didn't like someone trying to attack her systems." He patted the console. "That's my girl."

Before Rodney could respond, a loud snarl reverberated through the room. Startled, he jumped up, and got his first good look at a Wraith. Taller than Sheppard by a half foot, it had long, pointed teeth and pale, mottled, green skin. Its face resembled a human's but not like any human Rodney cared to meet.

"I’m getting a good idea of why Sumner wanted to keep Earth safe from these bastards," John said, taking aim. 

Teyla didn't wait for a shoot-to- kill order and began firing. A few seconds later Rodney understood why. The Wraith took bullet after bullet and still advanced on them. If anything, shooting at it seemed to make it madder. 

"Shit!" Ford shot off another round, hitting it square in the chest. "What's it going to take to kill this thing?"

"It has recently fed and will be harder to kill for it," Teyla yelled back.

That feeling of something bad about to happen crawled up Rodney's spine a heartbeat before a high pitched whine assaulted his ears. "John! There's two of them!"

Suddenly Ford's body seized, and he collapsed at Rodney's feet, caught in the wash of stunner fire. John and Teyla kept firing, barely holding the Wraith at bay while Rodney scrambled to drag Ford over to the meager shelter the console provided. As cover went, it sucked, but he had an idea and if it worked, he wouldn't need it for long.

He pulled off the main panel and attached his laptop leads to the crystals. Damn, he might have to kiss Radek if they survived this. He peeked around the corner just long enough to call out, "When I say 'duck', do it and don't hesitate. And for pity's sake, stay down."

Rodney knew Teyla would listen to him; he just prayed John would, too. He finished his modifications and wasn't surprised to find he only had enough power for one shot at this. "Sheppard, see if you can lure the other Wraith out where we can see him. I need them in relatively close proximity. "

"Sure, Rodney, I'll just unbutton my shirt and ask it to step up for an appetizer." John kept firing, and finally it seemed to have some effect, forcing the Wraith to take several steps back.

That drew out the second one and as soon as it moved close enough, Rodney yelled, "Duck."

Teyla went down, tangled her legs with John's and pulled him down with her. "Stay still, Major."

A soft swoosh and two thunks later, John looked up at Rodney. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Two Wraith heads rolled close to his booted ankles and John kicked them away. "What the hell was that?"

Rodney bounced on his heels and grinned. "I'm sure he never expected it to be used for this and naturally it needed some radical modifications I sincerely doubt anyone else could do as quickly…."

"Rodney!" John yelled. 

"Right. Teyla, Sheppard, you've just been rescued by Radek's one-of-a-kind cabbage harvester."

~*~

Dusting his hands off, metaphorically speaking, Rodney hit enter on his laptop with a flourish. There – mission report sent off to Elizabeth! Maybe now they could all get some much-needed rest.

He leaned back in his chair, feeling restless. Ford was back to his old self, Teyla had assured Elizabeth that she could no longer sense any Wraith presence, and he'd already apologized to Radek for breaking his harvester, yet his brain itched, urging him to finish…something. 

Unable to sleep, he decided a walk would help. Rodney had never been prone to aimless wandering and he fully expected to end up in one of the labs. As he walked down the hallway the lights remained dim. They'd stay that way for a while. At least until he had time to reroute some power from the naquadah generators. 

Finding a ZPM had to be their next priority. Meanwhile, John should be able to help with the city's interface; that was Rodney's reasoning as he walked towards John's quarters instead of heading for the lab. He intended to ignore the fact that he seemed drawn there like a bee to honey. 

He stood in front John's door, calling himself all kinds of idiot. Suddenly the door opened and John stood there looking sleepy and warm. 

"Rodney, what brings you by at," John peered at his watch, "2300?"

"I couldn't sleep. Um, can I come in?"

John welcomed him in with a lazy sweep of his arm. "Mi casa es tu casa. Anytime, Rodney."

"I don't think anyone's ever said that to me before, not even my sister." 

"Sit down, and tell me what's on your mind." An easy smile tugged at the corner of John's mouth. 

The one chair in the room held a stack of toppling reports leaving John's bed the only place to sit. Feeling awkward and uncertain what to do with his hands, Rodney sat on the bed. The same place where John slept, possibly naked, or jerking off. Fuck. 

Rodney dug his hands into his thighs. "We have a good idea what the Wraith device was for."

John sat down beside him. He smelled good. Really, really good. His beard stubble gave him a rakish, swashbuckling look and his mouth curved invitingly, lush and soft. Rodney pulled himself up short and hoped that John hadn't noticed the way he'd been staring. 

"Yes, as I was saying, the Wraith were trying to tap into our systems in an attempt to locate Earth. Lucky for us it didn't work."

"Did you get any more info out of the crashed Dart?" 

John's hip brushed against his, and the heat from John's body felt like a firebrand. Rodney bit his lip. "What? Oh. Yes. It's fairly obvious this was a single event. Grodin found a reference to the ongoing war with the Ancients…hive ships…things…some stuff." 

John's eyes crinkled at the corner in amusement. Rodney knew he was babbling but how the hell was he supposed to concentrate with John's hard thigh pressed against his?

"Stuff. Is that the scientific term?" John teased. "Now, tell me what's really bothering you, Rodney."

"I keep thinking about Col. Sumner, how we misjudged him. How he must have been under tremendous mental torture with the Wraith invading his dreams like that. He might very well have saved Earth by his actions."

"I'll talk to Elizabeth. We'll make sure his sacrifice is honored. Other than that, there's not much I can do." After a moment's hesitation, John carefully put his arm around Rodney's shoulder. 

This time Rodney allowed himself to lean into John. His hand somehow found its way around John's waist and he held his breath, waiting for a reaction.

"Rodney." John husked in his ear, his warm breath making Rodney shiver. "Stay."

He didn't whimper. Of course not, because that would be unmanly and there was nothing unmanly about the way his cock hardened when John pulled him closer. 

"If I didn't know you better, I'd call you a cock-tease. Do you have any idea how many times I've jerked off to the image of you wearing nothing but your lab coat?" John slid his hands under Rodney's shirt. "I'm feeling overdressed. How about you?"

"God, yes." His fingers tangled with John's and he blew out a sigh of frustration. 

"Let me." John made short work of getting Rodney's shirt off before pulling his own tee shirt off. "Pants?" 

Rodney nodded, mouth too dry to speak. Thank god, John seemed to get that. 

"Stand up so I can undress you," John husked, his warm breath teasing Rodney's nipple.

He stood up so fast the blood rushed to his head. Rodney couldn’t remember a time when he'd been so focused on the process of unbuttoning, unzipping and removing his shoes but somehow John made it all seem fascinating. He shivered in anticipation when John’s warm hands trailed up his legs, stopping to rest on Rodney's bare ass. Feeling breathless, Rodney asked, "How do you do that?"

"Do what? Have sex?" John teased.

"Not that. How is it that you make me feel…" he grasped for the word. "I…you…." Rodney reached out and slid his hand into John's hair, pulling gently until he could whisper in John's ear. "You make me feel sexy."

"I make you? Sweet mercy, do you have any idea what you do to me?" John laughed softly, clearly bemused although Rodney had no idea why. "Let's try this."

He cradled Rodney's face and kissed him tenderly on the mouth. It started sweetly, a closed mouth kiss that quickly changed into a hunger for more. Still kissing, somehow they managed to make it to the bed without tripping over their scattered clothes. 

Rodney squeaked when John landed on the bed first, pulling Rodney down on top of him. It was almost too much sensation, all that lean, muscled skin to rub against. John's cock felt hot and silky against his belly and he squirmed, trying to get even closer.

"Can I touch you?" Rodney asked, breaking the kiss. 

"You'd damn well better," John growled. 

The growl went straight to his cock and Rodney had to give his balls a sharp tug to keep from coming then and there. 

"Problem?" John's eyes sparkled with laughter.

"This is all your fault, you bastard." It didn't sound half as grumpy as he intended – the soft moan of lust completely ruined the effect. 

"I should certainly hope so" John moved his hips in a liquid, sensuous motion that brought his cock in contact with Rodney's. "What are you going to do about it?"

The temptation was too much. He broke. With a deep groan Rodney grabbed John's hips, and began thrusting against him, wild and sloppy. Any thoughts of going slow flew out the window with the sound of John's husky laugh in his ears. 

Just when Rodney thought it couldn't get any better, John reached down and took both of their cocks in his hand. He hadn't even seen John grab the lube. If he had any brain cells left he'd make a crack about military preparedness except, right now, he thought the idea was brilliant.

John's grip was tight, his rhythm steady and firm and Rodney lost himself in the feel and fascination of watching. "Oh god."

"Fuck, yeah." Using his free hand, John's thumb swiped across the head of his cock, scooping up drops of precome. Eyes dark, he held his thumb up to Rodney's mouth. 

Rodney didn't hesitate, opening his mouth and sucking in John's thumb. He kept sucking on it, cheeks hollowing with the effort, relishing in the taste of John. It never crossed his mind that John might see it as a tease. 

Shuddering, John’s rhythm broke, his pull becoming harder - rougher. "Rodney!" John came hard, adding to the warm, wet mess between them.

It was slick, hot, dirty, and exactly what Rodney needed to send him over the edge with a toe-curling orgasm. Spent, he collapsed on top of John, his head barely missing connecting with John's chin. 

"Easy, tiger." John pulled the pillowcase off the pillow and wiped them down with a cursory swipe. "C'mere."

"I'm not the small spoon, Sheppard!"

"You are tonight. And yes, we're sleeping this way. No arguing. I stay between you and the door."

Rodney heaved a put-upon sigh, eyes drifting shut. 

It would take wild horses before he'd admit it to anyone, but it was the best night’s sleep he'd had in years.

~*~

He should have known it was too good to last. This was so unfair, waking up next to John with arms around each other. He'd thought last night meant something. But now, before he'd even untangled his feet from the bedsheets, he was being tossed out. Son of a bitch.

Last night had been good, really good, but apparently not good enough. Rodney rubbed at his chest, failing to push away the sinking feeling lodged there. He knew he fell short in the relationship department. He scowled back at John, brain running on overdrive. What the hell had he done, or not done, this time to screw things up?

After last night, Rodney had planned on morning sex, five minutes for afterglow, and then sitting down to a hearty pancake breakfast together, just the two of them. Now it didn't look like he'd be getting sex, or the afterglow, and he'd had lost his appetite for the pancakes.

As it was, he'd barely cracked his eyes open before John had asked him to take him back to the planet. Today, right now, in fact. John was staring down at Rodney with a desperate earnestness, waiting for an answer. How could he say no to that?

"If you need me to leave…" Rodney clenched his jaw and stared at the wall over John's shoulder. He couldn't meet those imploring eyes without having a piece of his heart torn out. "Yes, I'll make the arrangements for you. Will you be – ah, be staying on the mainland, or gating off somewhere else?" It hurt but he forced himself to look John in the face. "I trust you'll at least keep in touch?" 

John's face could have been made of stone. "Anxious to get rid of me?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Sure it's not. Just take me back to the planet you found me on, McKay." 

"Fine!" Rodney jumped out of bed and hauled his pants on. "Jumper bay, twenty minutes. We wouldn't want you falling all over yourself with mushy goodbyes."

"Fine! I'll be there in ten!"

Rodney sat at the controls of the Gateship, waiting for John. He didn't have the heart to call her a Puddle Jumper, not with John leaving. Who knew when, if ever, they'd see each other again? He already missed that stupid idiot with the slim-hipped, wet-dream body and eyes that seemed to look straight into Rodney's soul. John was funny and brilliant with a wit that challenged him. Damn it to hell. He hadn't even said good-bye yet and his life already felt hollow.

"Here already?" John sauntered into the ship and took the shotgun seat. "Well then, guess I'll be long gone before you know it."

"It's no more than I should have expected," Rodney huffed. "People leave. I should be used to it by now. The longest relationship I've ever had was with my cat. I don't know why I ever thought this would be different."

"Rodney, do you think I'm leaving you?" John looked stunned. "I…no." 

"Well, excuse me! We're about to take off so you can go running off for parts unknown at the drop of a hat. The only thing you've forgotten was to leave money on the dresser! What the hell am I supposed to think?"

"Are you saying you don't want me to leave? Because you sure acted like you couldn't get rid of me fast enough."

"Idiot! I don't…" Rodney reached out and curled his fingers in John's shirtfront. "I hate that you want to leave. I don't know what I'm going to do without you but I'll be damned if I'll wait around hoping you'll miss me. Okay. I probably will, and I hate myself so much for admitting that."

John held his hand over Rodney's, not letting go. "I'm not trying to leave, but I need to get back to _Namor_ , just for a little while."

"Seriously? You're not leaving?"

"I swear, I'm not. I know this is going to sound ridiculous, which is why I didn’t try to explain. It's not a compulsion, exactly." Clearly unsettled and hating it, he added, "I just know I have to get back, okay." He gently untangled Rodney's fingers from his shirt. "You need to be the one to fly us there because there's something else I have to do."

~*~

They’d barely done a flyover of the ocean planet when they came under attack from a dozen Wraith Darts appearing out of nowhere. "Shit!" Rodney turned to ask John what the hell was going on, and how the hell he'd known they needed to come in cloaked. John was gone.

Pushing aside his panic, he enlarged the view on the screen. Mesmerized, Rodney watched as an electric blue dragon tore through the Darts. They were no match for the vicious slice and dice of John's teeth and talons. 

Without question, the dragon was John. Rodney might not be able to explain the science behind it, but he knew what he saw right in front of him. He'd known it before as well, the first time he used the ENF, inadvertently changing John back to his human form and landing him in the jumper. 

He could use the null field again if he had to, but not just yet. John wouldn't forgive him for pulling him out of defense mode while the planet remained under attack. Rodney pulled up the magnification on the view screen, sat back, and admired the speed and fury of John's aerial attack. The Darts didn't stand a chance. 

Suddenly, the warning lights flashed and the proximity alarm went off, annoying and harsh in his ears. He'd expect it if they neared an asteroid, but not here. He shut down the alarms and scanned quickly through the incoming data stream. Oh hell, not an asteroid but a ship. He softly swore as a huge Hive ship dropped out of orbit and hovered above them. Horrified, Rodney watched as hundreds of darts poured out from it, threatening to overwhelm John. 

Panicked, and not knowing what else he could do, Rodney fired the Puddle Jumper's entire battery of drones at the Hive ship. Weapons spent, he collapsed back in the seat and stared at the view screen. The Hive ship loomed, threatening and still intact. Heart in his throat, he knew John's efforts weren't going to be enough. 

Rodney's fingers danced over the controls, racing to program new commands into the Jumper's computer. Finished, he spared a glance at the battle in front of him and his breath caught in his throat. A Dart must have gotten in a lucky shot because John's left wing flickered, its electric spark weakened and damaged. 

He had no idea what kind of stress an injury like that would do to John's human body, but he knew he was out of time. "John, hang on, I'm coming." Trying not to think about what he was about to do, Rodney engaged the autopilot and opened the back hatch. 

Hand wrapped around the nylon strap of his jury-rigged guy wire, Rodney made his way to edge of the ramp. He couldn't help thinking how moments like this didn't carry the drama one would expect. There was no mechanical grinding of gears – the Ancient hatch openly silently. There was no wind whipping his hair or making him gasp for air – with the Jumper's steady hover he felt nothing but a light breeze. The only noise he heard was the whine of the Darts and the thumping of his heart. 

He could do this. Praying like hell his ATA gene was strong enough, that the same thing that pulled John in would recognize the added danger of the Hive ship and drag Rodney in, too – oh, hell. He closed his eyes. The pull of an Ancient force tugged at his ATA gene, only slightly stronger than the sensation of gate travel. Figuring that was as good as it was going to get, he jumped. 

Between one blink of an eye and the next, the sky held not one defensive dragon, but two. Rodney extended his broad wings and plunged into the firefight. He turned his focus to protecting John's back. John might be the superior fighter but Rodney had his own kernel of pride. Not a single dart that came near John got away unscathed. 

Rearing, John turned on his tail midair and charged at the Hive ship. The ship might be massive, but its shields steadily weakened under John's attack. Rodney fretted it would escape before they could bring it down, but he had no way to warn John of the possibility.

He put that worry aside when, moments later, John's claws sliced through the ship's hyper-drive engine. John soared out of the way, the resulting explosion missing him by seconds.

Side by side, he and John hovered in the sky and watched as pieces of the ship hit the ocean and disappeared deep beneath the waves. Very few of the Darts remained and Rodney discovered he got particular pleasure out of how easily his talons could rip them apart. 

Time – time was important. He couldn't remember why, and Rodney struggled to keep panic at bay. Something must have gone wrong but he couldn't remember what that might be. He tried calling out to John but no sound came out. 

His senses twisted and his memory came flooding back. Rodney held a hand to his forehead, trying to clear his thoughts. He wasn't in the sky flying, he didn't have wings, he was – human. Human, naked and lying in the back of the Puddle Jumper collapsed on top of an equally naked John Sheppard.

"It worked."

John grumbled underneath him, shifting just enough so that Rodney's elbow no longer poked him in the ribs. "What worked?"

"I programed the ENF with a timer. When it activated, it pulled us back."

"You make one hell of a dragon, McKay." John pushed himself up on one elbow. "Did you know you manifest red, not blue? Electric red. Watching you take out the Darts was a hell of a sight." He gave Rodney's ass a squeeze. "And pretty damn hot in more ways than one. How did you manage the fire breathing?"

"About that, well… actually I'm not quite sure how I did any of it, but…" Rodney grinned. "You took out a Hive ship! John. John? Are you okay?"

"Dizzy." John tried to get up and collapsed back down on the floor. "Rodney, I don't feel so good."

Rodney jumped up and grabbed a blanket, taking precious time to wrap it around John. "Hang on. I'll have us back in Atlantis in no time." 

They were on the final leg of the trip, flying from the mainland to Atlantis when John slid into the seat next to him. "Relax. You're going to snap the joystick in two with that grip."

"Are you okay?" 

"Better. And a lot better than last time." John rubbed at his arm. "At least it didn’t take me so long to recover."

Rodney's gaze followed the long, narrow silver scar that ran up John's arm from his elbow to shoulder. At his shoulder, it clustered into a painful looking knot of pink tissue. 

He ground his teeth. "That's it. We're never doing this again. Manifesting into dragon energy obviously drains anyone with the gene. Stupid Ancients, and their stupid, flawed machinery. When we have enough power and resources I'm going to find the damn machine responsible for this, and destroy it once and for all." Rodney glared at John, daring him to protest.

John looked doubtful. "It was a Hive ship, Rodney. What if something caused the Wraith to wake up early? We'll need every weapon we can get our hands on."

"We'll find another way. We'll get our hands on a ZPM eventually, and then I'll find a safe way to replicate the defense grid."

John held his hands up in surrender. "Okay. Genius on a mission. I know better than to argue." 

"Damn right." He could feel John staring him and turned to meet John's clear, amused gaze. "What now?" 

"Were you planning on arriving in Atlantis naked? Because I'm thinking, Elizabeth might be a little bit surprised by that." 

John got up and tossed a blanket at his head. "It's still breakfast time in Atlantis." He leaned over Rodney's shoulder, fingers trailing along the back of Rodney's neck. "When we get back, what do you say we get ourselves some pancakes."

~*~

Another day, another trip to the infirmary, and another debrief. Ever since John joined Rodney's team, days like this were turning old hat. It also meant another night with John, and that would never get old.

Currently, Rodney and John were in the lab with Radek, the three of them discussing the future outlook of the city. 

"It's comes down to two things," Radek began. "We've replaced the Stargate, thanks to the efforts of Major Sheppard, but we still need to increase our power output and find a replacement crystal if we are ever going to dial the Milky Way."

He held up his hand. "Yes, Rodney, I know this is obvious but Elizabeth asked for me to present a detailed report. I am being detailed."

"The control crystal. How hard is it to find another one?" John asked.

"Ah, I have a theory," Radek said, looking smug. "Rodney does not like it, but I will tell you anyway. Especially since the only reason he doesn't like it is because it was not his idea. Do not pay attention to his senseless grumbles."

Rodney snorted. Radek ignored him and began sketching a trio of ZPMs on the whiteboard. "The Ancients worked heavily in redundancies and they liked the number three. It is highly unlikely that they would only have one crystal capable of dialing Earth."

"The real question is," Rodney interrupted, "will we find the other two crystals here, in Atlantis, or have they been hidden somewhere else?" 

John snapped his fingers. "What about that list of gate addresses old Elizabeth gave you?"

"No good I'm afraid." Radek starting writing gate addresses next to his stick-figure ZPM's. He tapped the board. "In the places we have already explored, we have found nothing but stories and a place where a ZPM might have once been." He shook his head. "There have been no hints of any kind of Ancient crystal left behind."

"But you have more addresses," John insisted.

"What are you getting at?" Rodney asked.

"What if," John began, eyes lighting up, "we're thinking too small."

"A ZPM is hardy a small thing, Sheppard," Rodney protested.

"Unless," John bounced on his toes, "One of the addresses leads us to another city like Atlantis." 

Radek looked at Rodney. "Is that possible?"

"Maybe? It makes a crazy kind of sense. I mean, why wouldn't there be another Ancient city?"

"If the Ancients liked threes so much, that means there should be two more cities, right, guys? Complete with control crystals." John stood with his hands on his hips and a smug grin on his face. "We just find us another one."

"No, no, no… that would be...um, I suppose it's remotely possible." Despite his reluctance, Rodney couldn't keep the hope out his voice. 

John leaned against the desk with his arms folded across his chest. Smugness practically rolled off him. "Yeah, I can't wait to find out, either." Unaccountably, his expression grew somber.

"What is it? Rodney asked. "Something else on your mind?"

"Sometimes, I feel like I got the best deal out of all this. I can't help wondering what the other me is doing, the me that stayed on Earth. I feel kind of sorry for him."

"Whatever it is," Rodney reassured him," it's not as important as what you're doing right here. Here with me, in case you didn't get that part."

John ducked his head and grinned.

~*~

Epilogue

John Sheppard flipped the sharpened pencil across his knuckles. It was the last of a dozen exactly like the other eleven lodged in the ceiling tiles above him. God, he hated office work. There were only so many ways to shuffle paper around and he'd tried them all. He had the wastepaper basket full of crumpled paper airplanes to prove it.

Days like this he truly regretted not going to another galaxy when he had the chance. At least his desk time was almost over. His brother Dave was making a great recovery. One more week and he'd be back from his Miami vacation and behind this very desk. John sighed. Thirty-four was too damn young for a heart attack.

At least they'd all learned something from it, Dave starting taking more time with his family, Dad making an effort to delegate more of the family business to his partners, and he'd learned – the pencil snapped in two. John set the pieces carefully down on the desk. He'd learned life was a pain in the ass. 

The feeling of someone watching made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. John stood, eyes scanning the office, as his military training took over. In the middle of the room, he spied a dark shadow. No larger than an ice cube, it silently hovered chest high. 

Before he could move any closer, it morphed in front of his eyes. For once John was glad he knew about Stargates, aliens, and other galaxies, otherwise he'd be tempted to freak out right now.  
He watched in amazement as the cube extended in a narrow line in both directions and then widened into a doorway. The smell of cordite and burnt circuits wafted into the room moments before a strange woman stepped through the aperture. Battle worn and weary, not to mention armed to the teeth, she was still one of the most remarkable looking women John had ever seen. 

Her brown eyes pinned him under her sharp gaze. "Are you John Sheppard?"

He was too surprised to do anything but nod, but it seemed to be the answer she was looking for.  
She tapped the radio on her tac vest. "I have him, Rodney."

Even from three feet away John could hear the response yelled back over the radio. "Have you explained to him how badly we need him? Is he coming? Teyla, tell me he said yes!" 

He could hear sounds of gunfire in the background. "Who are you people?" 

"I am Teyla Emmagan." She inclined her head in greeting. "We have been looking for you for a long time and in many places, though I understand that it may be difficult to believe."

"Understand that you've opened some kind of dimensional portal? That you're able to travel to different worlds? Nah, not so much."

"Oh. Well that does make it easier." A glimmer of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Do you also know about Atlantis, the city of the Ancients?" At his nod, she continued. "We have a base there but our situation is becoming ever more desperate. If you could come with me, even for a few days – .”

A head stuck out of the shimmering doorway. “Well, Sheppard, are you coming?”

John took stock of the dirty, sweaty, exhausted man in front of him. Bright blue eyes scrutinized him in return as John took in the military BDU's and clinging smell of cordite. There wasn't a sign of orange fleece in sight. "Dr. McKay?"

"Yes. Possibly not exactly the McKay you were expecting. Well?" He beckoned to John with an impatient wave. “Trust me, Sheppard, you’re needed, more than you can imagine. I can't hold this doorway open much longer so I'm afraid lengthy explanations will have to wait."

"You didn’t say exactly where I’m going, McKay." 

"To Atlantis, of course." With a rakish grin that pulled at the knife scar that ran across one cheek, McKay said, "Let’s just say this is your chance to find out what’s on the other side of that coin toss."

John wasn’t sure what he was getting into, or if he’d be coming back, but this felt like the first right decision he’d made in months. He stepped over to his desk and hit the intercom. "Marcy, tell my father I’ll be late for dinner."

THE END


End file.
